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59th Congress, ) SENATE, i j Document 

1st Session. | • 1 No. 205. " 



ADJUSTMENT OF TITLE TO ISLE OF PINES. 



I: ruaey 1, 1906.— Ordered to be printed in confidence for the use of the Senate, 

together with the views of the minority (see page 189). 
February 12, 1906. — Injunction of secrecy removed. 



Mr. Forakee, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, submitted 

the following 

REPORT. 

[To accompany Executive J, 58th Cong., 2d sess.] 

The Committee on Foreign Relations, having had under considera- 
tion the treaty between the United States and Cuba, signed March 2, 
1904, for the adjustment of title to the ownership of the Isle of Pines, 
report he same favorably and recommend its ratification. 
reaty under consideration is as follows : 

I r i.itecl States of America and the Republic of Cuba, being desirous to 
I effect to the sixth Article of the Provision in regard to the relations to 

ween the United States and Cuba, contained in the Act of the Congress 
oi the united States of America, approved March second, nineteen hundred and 
one, which sixth Article aforesaid is included in the Appendix to the Constitu- 
tion of the Republic of Cuba, promulgated on the 20th day of May, nineteen 
hundred and two and provides that " The island of Pines shall be omitted from 
the boundaries of Cuba specified in the Constitution, the title of ownership 
thereof being left to future adjustment by treaty ; " have for that purpose 
appointed as their Plenipotentiaries to conclude a treaty to that end : 

The President of the United States of America, John Hay, Secretary of State 
of the United States of America : and 

The President of the Republic of Cuba, Gonzalo de Quesada, Envoy Extraor- 
dinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Cuba to the United States of America ; 

Who, after communicating to each other their full powers, found in good and 
due form, have agreed upon the following Articles : 

"P Article I. 

The United States of America relinquishes in favor of the Republic of Cuba 
all claim of title to the Island of Pines situate in the Caribbean Sea near the 
southwestern part of the Island of Cuba, which has been or may be made in 
virtue of Articles I and II of the Treaty of Peace between the United States and 
Spain, signed at Paris on the tenth day of December eighteen hundred and 
ninety eight. 

Article II. 

This relinquishment, on the part of the United States of America, of claim of 
title to the said Island of Pines, is in consideration of the grants of coaling and 
naval stations in the Island of Cuba heretofore made to the United States of 
America by the Republic of Cuba. 



2 ISLE OF PINES. 

Article III. 

Citizens of the United States of America who, at the time of the exchange of 
ratifications of this treaty, shall be residing or holding property in the Island of 
Pines shall suffer no diminution of the rights and privileges which they have 
acquired prior to the date of exchange of ratifications of this treaty ; they may 
remain there or may remove therefrom, retaining in either event all their rights 
of property, including the right to sell or dispose of such property or of its pro- 
ceeds ; and they shall also have the right to carry on their industry, commerce 
and professions being subject in respect thereof to such laws as are applicable 
to other foreigners. 

Article IV. 

The present treaty shall be ratified by each party in conformity with ' ie 
respective Constitutions of the two countries, and the ratifications shall k _ x- 
changed in the City of Washington as soon as possible ^J 

In witness whereof, we, the respective Plenipotentiaries, have signed this 
treaty and hereunto affixed our seals. 

Done at Washington, in duplicate, in English and Spanish this second day of 
March one thousand nine hundred and four. 

[seal.] John Hay 

[seal.] Gonzalo pe Quesada. 

The ratification of the treaty is opposed by citizens of the United 
States who have acquired property and have located in the Isle of 
Pines with a view to establishing their residence there. 

The following petition indicates the grounds of their objections to 
ratification : 

To the President and Congress of the United States: 

At a general mass meeting of the residents and property owners of the Isle 
of Pines, hurriedly called at the town of Nueva Gerona on this the 5th day of 
December, 1903, the following preamble was unanimously adopted : 

Whereas a treaty is now pending in the United States Congress whereby 
it is proposed to give to the Cuban Government complete and absolute control 
of the Isle of Pines ; and 

Whereas the residents and property owners of the Isle of Pines were induced 
to purchase homes and to bring their families and settle on this island under 
the assurances given them by the " treaty of Paris," " the Piatt amendment 
to the army appropriation bill," by personal letters from President McKinley, 
Secretary of State Hay, Secretary of War Root, and finally by the " Isle of 
Pines treaty," wherein the two nations through their respective plenipoten- 
tiaries acknowledge the Isle of Pines as United States territory ; and 

AVhereas a ratification of said treaty will be of great and permanent injury 
to the interests of the Americans, who now own and control three-fourths of 
the landed interests in the Isle of Pines ; and 

Whereas Gen. Leonard Wood, military governor-general of Cuba and of the 
Isle of Pines did, on the 17th day of April, 1902, declare to a representative 
committee of property owners of the Isle of Pines that according to the sixth 
clause of the Piatt amendment to the army appropriation bill it would be 
absolutely necessary to continue the military government on the Isle of Piles 
until the status of that island was settled by treaty between the United States 
and Cuba ; 

That he would personally see to it that the military government was put in 
operation there and a governor appointed before he left Cuba ; 

That the records pertaining to the Isle of Pines should be removed at once 
from Cuba to the Isle of Pines, and that we need have no fears but that our 
personal and vested property interests would be fully protected and cared for. 
Yet none of these things have been done ; and 

Whereas gross, unjust, incorrect, and uncalled for statements have been made 
by our American minister to Cuba, Herbert G. Squiers, and the interests of 
Americans have not been guarded or considered by him, who proposes by such 
treaty to cede to the Republic of Cuba, for an undefinable consideration, an 
island of 1,200 square miles, with exceptional harbor and coaling station facili- 
ties within easy reach of both the Atlantic and Pacific seacoasts of the United 
, States, and with resources both mineral and agricultural worth millions of 



$5"o(*k 



3u6 



ISLE OF PINES. 3 

dollars, and on which a million more has been expended for improvements by- 
citizens of the United States. 

Therefore we the residents and property owners on the Isle of Pines appeal 
to each member of the Senate of the United States to vote for the defeat of the 
treaty referred to, and to save us from the perfidy of our pretended friends. 
And your petitioners will ever pray. 

Dated at Neuva Gerona, Isle of Pines, West Indies, December 5, 1903. 

Louis C. Getnee, 

Chairman. 
Charles Raynaud, 

Secretary. 
F. A. Bagger, 

Assistant Secretary. 
Edward P. Ryan, 

(and 258 others.) 

Numerous other petitions, letters, and communications have been 
submitted by these protestants of this same general character. Inas- 
much as these additional petitions, letters, and other kinds of commu- 
nications do not set forth any new grounds in addition to those recited 
in the above petition, it is deemed unnecessary to embody them in this 
report, with the exception of the following letter from Frank T. 
Mason, dated New York, December 15, 1903, and addressed to Hon. 
Thomas C. Piatt, United States Senate, and by him referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Kelations for consideration : 

New York, December 15, 1908. 
Hon. Thomas C. Platt, 

United States Senator, Washington, D. C. 

My Dear Senator : As one of a number of your constituents having interests 
in the Isle of Pines, I vigorously protest against the treaty now pending in the 
Senate, ceding the said Isle of Pines to Cuba. 

My father, William Mason, my brother, Fred 0. Mason, and myself have 1,800 
acres on the island, and for the last year and a half have spent between $30,000 
and $40,000 in improvements. In fact, my brother and myself have resided 
there superintending the work during this time, except for the last month. 

We contend that the Isle of Pines is territory of the United States according 
to article 2 of the treaty of Paris, which reads as follows : 

" Spain cedes to the United States the island of Porto Rico and other islands 
now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and the island of Guam, in 
the Marianas or Ladrones." 

We were further influenced in our investment in the Isle of Pines by a letter 
written by Mr. George Bridges to the War Department on August 10, 1899, 
asking information respecting the Isle of Pines, as follows : 

" Does it come in as Porto Rico, or under same conditions as Cuba? I expect 
to go there in November, and for this information I would thank you in 
advance." 

To which the War Department replied on August 14, 1899, as follows : 

" Referring to your communication of August 10, instant, soliciting infor- 
mation respecting the Isle of Pines, I am directed by the Assistant Secretary 
of War to advise you that this island was ceded by Spain to the United States, 
and is, therefore a part of our territory, although it is attached at present to the 
division of Cuba for governmental purposes. A copy of the Isle of Pines is 
inclosed for your information, and you are advised that the disposition of 
public lands must await the action of Congress." 

I earnestly solicit your assistance in defeating this treaty if possible, but if 
this is hopeless at least please use your influence to secure an amendment 
embodying the following provisions : 

The establishment of a stable form of insular government, with some form of 
judicial tribunal for the trial of ordinary cases. 

The opening of a port of entry at the capital of the island. 

The removal to Nueva Gerona. Isle of Pines, from Bejucal, Cuba, of the land 
records pertaining to the Isle of Pines. 

The establishment of an American school at some point on the Isle of Pines. 

When the treaty was under negotiation at Habana, United States Minister 



4 ISLE OF PINES 

Squiers guaranteed to a committee which waited upon him in behalf of the 
American Association of Residents and Investors on the Isle of Pines that the 
treaty would contain the above-mentioned provisions safeguarding American 
interests. Minister Squiers not only made these promises to the committee, 
but also to individual Americans, myself among others. 

Not a single one of Minister Squiers's provisions have been made good in the 
treaty which has been submitted to the Senate for consideration. No only 
American, but every other interest in the island is threatened with ruin if the 
promised reforms are not secured. Under the Spanish Government the island 
was purposely cut off from all intercourse with the outside world, but 
enjoyed a measure of prosperity through the maintenance of a military gov- 
ernment with a large garrison of Spanish troops. . Now that the island has 
been thrown on its own resources, all it asks, aside from the American flag, 
which it seem it is not to have, is a decent opportunity to take care of itself. 

The Isle of Pines is at present absolutely without any form of government. 
The highest official in a territory almost as large as Rhode Island is the 
alcalde of a town of 1,000 inhabitants, exercising an indefinite authority over 
the surrounding territory. There are no judicial tribunals. The children of 
American parents are absolutely without educational opportunities, and a 
great portion of the time no schools are condiicted in any language. 

Owing to the absence of nil records from the island, the cost of Land transfers 
is prohibitive, except where valuable properties are involved. The absence of a 
port of entry prevents the development of the island's commercial possibilities. 
The duty on the imports and exports of the island is collected at ports on the 
island of Cuba and goes into the Cuban treasury. Not one cent of it is expended 
for the benefit of the Isle of Pines. Improvements commenced during the 
American occupation have been left unfinished. Government bridges are falling 
down, and the island receives no more attention from the Cuban Government 
than if it was in the Arctic Ocean. 

Minister Squiers is fully conversant with this deplorable condition of affairs, 
and has promised again and again to have it remedied if a transfer of sover- 
eignty was made. He has even gone further than this, and volunteered in case 
the island was surrendered to Cuba to see that every American who' so desired 
should have the opportunity of disposing of his land at -cost to the Cuban Gov- 
ernment. Witnesses can be brought to substantiate all these assertions. 

I have invested in the Isle of Pines with a view to permanent residence there, 
and if it is impossible to retain the island under the American flag I earnestly 
implore you to use every influence in your power to secure the desired amend- 
ments, so that those who intend to permanently reside there may have their 
interests definitely protected. 

Trusting you will give this matter your careful attention, I am, 
Yours, very truly, 

Frank T. Mason. 

It will be observed that the chief ground of objection urged against 
the treaty is that these protestants were misled by the treaty of peace 
with Spain, by the Piatt amendment, and by correspondence with the 
War Department and other officials of the Government into the belief 
that the title of the Isle of Pines passed to the United States by the 
treaty of peace with Spain, and that it would continue as a possession 
of the United States and under its jurisdiction and government. 

In December, 1903, it was claimed that there were of these protest- 
ing American citizens residing in the Isle of Pines and interested as 
owmers of property there about 300 or 400 persons. 

It is claimed that there are now about 1,200 citizens of the United 
States who have gone to the Isle of Pines for the purpose of estab- 
lishing permanent residence there, but a census of the island, taken 
by the Republic of Cuba during the year 1904, shows the number to 
be only 416. 

In response to a resolution of the Senate adopted June 7, 1904, all 
correspondence and papers on tile in the office of the Executive and 
the War Department relating to the Isle of Pines were sent to the 
Senate and have been published as "Executive D, Confidential, Fifty- 
eighth Congress, second session." This document is hereto attached 
and marked for identification "Exhibit A." 



ISLE OF PINES. 5 

As giving further information on the general subject, attention is 
also called to " No. 445, Legation of the United States of America, 
Habana, Cuba, March 18, 1903," which is made a part hereof as " Ex- 
hibit B." 

In addition to the foregoing, attention is also called to Exhibit C 
hereof, the same having been prepared by the chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Foreign Relations, and printed for the confidential use of 
members of the committee. 

Attention is also called to Senate Document No. 201, Fifty-seventh 
Congress, second session, being a message from the President, dated 
February 28, 1903, as to the present status of the Isle of Pines, trans- 
mitting to the Senate a report on the subject made by the Secretary 
of War, dated February 27, 1903, attached hereto as " Exhibit D." 

From the record presented by these various exhibits it appears that 
the Isle of Pines has always belonged to the " geographical entity " 
called Cuba. It has also been so represented on the maps of Cuba.' 

Historically and politically it was regarded as a part of Cuba for 
administrative purposes of government under the Spanish regime. 
It was attached as a separate municipality to the Province of Habana, 
and belonged to the judicial district of Bejucal. During the occu- 
pation of Cuba by the United States it continued to be regarded and 
governed as a municipality of the Province of Habana. It was par- 
ticularly and distinctively so regarded and treated by the United 
States when it took the census of Cuba under the order of President 
McKinley, dated August 17, 1899. 

The census report of Gen. J. P. Sanger shows that the Isle of Pines 
was included in the Province of Habana, to which it had always 
theretofore been attached under the government of Cuba bjr Spain. 
In all the maps published by General Sanger the Isle of Pines is 
shown as belonging to Cuba. 

The following quotations from General Sanger's report have an 
important bearing on the question under consideration : 

The Government of Cuba has jurisdiction not only over the island of that 
name, but also over the Isle of Pines, lying directly to the south of it, more than 
a thousand islets and reefs scattered along its northern and southern coasts. 

The Isle of Pines, with an area of 840 square miles, is a municipal district of 
the Province of Habana. It is in effect two islands connected by a marsh, the 
northern being somewhat broken by hills, the southern low, flat, and sandy. 

The total population of Cuba, including the Isle of Pines and neighboring keys, 
was, on October 16, 1889, 1,572,797. 

[Under Habana Province, population given as 3,199.] 

Habana Province. 



Municipal districts. 


1887. 


1899. 


Gain. 


Loss. 


Aguacate 


3,346 

200,448 

2,040 


3,163 

242,055 

3,199 


41,607 
1,159 


188 


Habana 




lsla de Pinos 









Population by wards and by cities. — Under Province of Habana : lsla de Pinos 
district, 3,199. (Page 182.) 

Rural population excluding cities of 8.000 inhabitants or more, with area and 
density, by municipal districts. — Under Province of Habana : lsla de Pinos, 
rural population, 3,199 ; area in square miles, 840 ; density per square mile, 3.8. 
(Page 192.) 

Sex, general nativity, and color. — Under Province of Habana : lsla de Pinos. 



6 ISLE OF PINES. 

total, 3,199; male, 1,782; female, 1,417. Native white: Total, 2,480; male, 
1.309; female, 1,171. Foreign white: Total, 198; male, 186; female, 13. (Page 
194.) 

Percentage of population oy sex, general nativity, and color. — Under Province 
of Habana : Isla de Pinos, total population, 3,199 ; male, 55.7 ; female, 47.8 ; 
native white, 77.5; foreign white, 22.4; colored, 28.6. (Page 200.) 

Age and sex. — Under Province of Habana : Isla de Pinos, total population, 
3,199; under 5 years, male 195, female 158; 5 to 17 years, male 547, female 528; 

18 to 20 years, male 106, female 97 ; 21 to 44 years, male 671, female 473 ; 45 
years and over, male 263, female 161. ( Page 203. ) 

Birthplace. — Under Province of Habana : Isla de Pinos, total population, 3,199 ; 
Cuba, 2,990; Spain, 195 ; other countries, 14. (Page 218.) 

Birthplace, sex, and race. — Under Province of Habana : Isla de Pinos district, 
total, 3,199 ; Cuban, 2,818 ; Spanish, 32 ; in suspense, 334 ; other citizenship, 15. 
(Page 225.) 

Conjugal condition. — Under Province of Habana : Isla de Pinos, total, 3,119 ; 
single, 2,184 ; married, 774 ; living together as husband and wife by mutual 
consent, 56; widowed, 184; unknown, 1. (Page 299.) 

School attendance, literary and superior education. — Under Province of 
Habana : Isla de Pinos, total population, 3,199 ; attended school, 38 ; did not 
attend school, 784 — under 10 years of age. Ten years of age and over : Attended 
school, 37 ; can neither read nor write, 1,343 ; can read but can not write, 42 ; 
can read and write, 954 ; not stated, 1. Superior education : Yes, 22 ; no, 3,177. 
(Page 358.) 

Foreign whites, male and female. — Under Province of Habana : Isla de Pinos, 
total, 1S5 ; male — 52 agriculture, fisheries, mining, 48 trade and transportation, 

19 manufactures and mechanical industries, 1 professional service, 6 without 
gainful occupation ; 12 females — 1 trade, 1 professional, 1 domestic and per- 
sonal service, 10 without gainful occupation. (Page 410.) 

Colored. — Total, 288 ; 96 agriculture, 13 trade, 15 manufacturing, 90 domestic 
and personal, 74 without gainful occupation. (Page 412.) 

Province of Ilaoana, colored females. — Isla de Pinos, total, 233 : Domestic and 
personal service, 28; without gainful occupation, 205. (Page 413.) 

Numoer and size of families. — Under Province of Habana : Isla de Pinos, total 
population, 3,199; total number of families, 572; average size, 5.6. (Page 507.) 

Dwellings and families. — Under Province of Habana : Isla de Pinos, unoc- 
cupied buildings, 48 ; occupied dwellings, 546 ; number of families, 572 ; persons 
to a family, 5.6; persons to a dwelling, 5.9; families to a dwelling, 1. (Page 
512.) 

Attention is particularly called to the fact that this census, taken 
subsequent to August, 1899, shows that at the time when it was taken 
there were in the Isle of Pines only 14 persons who were natives of 
any other country than Cuba or Spain. Practically all of the prot- 
estants must, therefore, have gone to the Isle of Pines subsequent 
to the taking of that census, and therefore with full knowledge that 
the Isle of Pines was being regarded and treated, for governmental 
purposes, as belonging to Cuba and as a part thereof. If the 14 per- 
sons citizens of other countries than Spain and Cuba were citizens 
of the United States they should have taken notice of the fact that 
they were enumerated as foreigners, which of itself indicated that the 
Isle of Pines was not domestic territory of the United States. 

Numerous orders were issued and repeatedly action was taken by 
the military governor of Cuba during the American occupation that 
proceeded upon the theory that the Isle of Pines belonged to Cuba, 
not only for the purpose of its government, but as an integral part of 
Cuba. 

The following orders may be mentioned in this connection : 

Order No. 45, January 27, 1900. Appointment under Province of Habana of 
first assistant mayor. 

Order No. 201, May 18, 1900, providing that the ayuntamiento of Isla de 
Pinos, Province of Habana, shall have eight councilmen. 



ISLE OF PINES. 7 

Order No. 254, June 27, 1900, as to lieutenant mayors, Isla de Pinos, under 
Province of Habana. 

Other orders of a similar character might be cited, but these are 
sufficient to show the general character of all of them. 

Still more important is the fact that the inhabitants of the Isle 
of Pines participated in the elections held in Cuba during the 
American occupation, namely, the municipal elections of June 16, 
1900, and those for the election of delegates to the constitutional 
convention September 15, 1900. 

In an order, No. 218, by General Wood, dated October 14, 1901, 
approved by the War Department and published by the Division of 
Insular Affairs in November, 1901, occurs the following under the 
head of " Electoral divisions, Province of Habana : " 

Province of Habana. 

It is divided into four circuits. * * * 

The third will be composed of the ayuntamientos of Guines, La Catalina, 
Madruga, Melena del Sur, Nueva Paz, San Nicolas, Guara, Bejucal, Batabano, 
Quivican, Isle of Pines, San Antonio de las Vegas, San Felipe, and La Salud. 

March 2, 1901, the Piatt amendment was adopted, the sixth article 
of which reads as follows : 

That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional 
boundaries of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty. 

Subsequently, and in accordance with the requirements of that 
amendment, the Cuban constitutional convention adopted the Piatt 
amendment as an appendix, reciting in that connection the sixth 
article as above given. 

On the 20th day of May, 1902, by the instrument transferring the 
government of Cuba to the President and Congress elected by the 
people of the island of Cuba, the following declaration was made : 

It is understood by the United States that the present government of the Isle 
of Pines will continue as a de facto government pending the settlement of the 
title to the said island by treaty, pursuant to the Cuban constitution and the 
act of Congress of the United States approved March 2, 1902. 

The status of the Isle of Pines under our occupation of Cuba and 
the nature of the de facto government, which was to continue pend- 
ing the settlement of the title to the said island, etc., are shown by the 
following indorsement, made by Gen. Leonard Wood on the resolu- 
tion adopted by the Senate February 16, 1903, namely : 

[First indorsement.] 

Office of Late Military Government of Cuba, 

Washington, February 20, 1908. 
Respectfully returned to the Bureau of Insular Affairs. At the date of trans- 
fer of the island of Cuba to its duly elected officials the Isle of Pines constituted 
a municipality included within the municipalities of the Province of Habana, 
and located in the judicial district of Bejucal. The government of the island 
is vested in its municipal officers subject to the general control of the civil gov- 
ernor of the Province of Habana, who is vested, under the constitution of Cuba, 
with certain authority in the control of municipal affairs. Under the military 
government of Cuba the Isle of Pines was governed by municipal officials, sub- 
ject to the general authority of the civil governor, who received his authority 
from the governor-general. The Isle of Pines, as it had existed under the mil- 
itary government, was transferred as a de facto government to the Cuban Repub- 
lic, pending the final settlement of the status of the island by treaty between 
the United States and Cuba. The action taken by the military government was 
in accordance with telegraphic orders from the honorable the Secretary of War. 



8 ISLE OF PINES. 

The government of the island to-day is in the hands of its municipal officers, 
duly elected by the people, under the general control of the civil governor of 
the Province of Habana and the Republic of Cuba. As I understand it, the 
government of the Isle of Pines is vested in the Republic of Cuba pending such 
final action as may be taken by the United States and Cuba looking to the 
ultimate disposition of the island. No special action was taken to protect 
the interests of the citizens of the United States who have purchased property 
and have settled in the Isle of Pines, for the reason that no such action 
was necessary. All Americans in the island are living under exactly the same 
conditions as other foreigners, and if they comply with the laws in force 
it is safe to say that they will not have any difficulty or need special pro- 
tection. At the time these people purchased property they understood dis- 
tinctly that the question of ownership of the Isle of Pines was one pending 
settlement, and in locating there they took the risks incident to the situation. 

In addition to the foregoing the Treasury Department has always 
ruled that goods dutiable under the tariff laws of the United States 
imported from the Isle of Pines into this country were subject to 
duty as importations from a foreign country within the meaning of 
the revenue laws. 

In view of this record it appears that, notwithstanding the fact 
that there were some letters written by the Assistant Secretary of 
War and other officials of the War Department announcing that the 
title to the Isle of Pines had been vested in the United States by the 
treaty of peace with Spain, there has never been a time since before 
the first of the protestants acquired property and located in the 
Isle of Pines when the title to the Isle of Pines has not been at 
least a controverted question, and a question so openly controverted 
that all must have had knowledge of the fact that Cuba claimed title 
to the Isle of Pines, and the United States recognized that there 
was a debatable question with respect thereto, which was from time 
to time postponed for future settlement and adjustment. 

In the face of this record the protestants who have located in the 
Isle of Pines should be held to have done so with full notice of the 
claims of Cuba with respect thereto, and of the admission of the 
United States that these claims when finally adjusted might be settled 
in favor of Cuba. No matter, therefore, how gratifying it might be 
to meet the wishes of these citizens of the United States who have 
thus located in the Isle of Pines, there is no ground for them to claim 
that the Government of the United States has misled them to their 
prejudice, and all this aside from the fact that the Assistant Secre- 
tary of War and the other officials who wrote what are claimed to 
have been misleading letters, had manifestly no authority whatever to 
bind the Government by such statements. 

Reference to Exhibit B, No. 445, report of Hon. II. G. Squiers, will 
disclose how these protestants were misled, if they have been misled 
at all, in the respect claimed. This report shows that there were 
then four incorporated companies engaged in the acquisition, exploi- 
tation, and sale of lands in the Isle of Pines. With respect to their 
general character he says : 

Some of them are what might be called mutual, but generally there is a specu- 
lative element, which will receive the profits derived from the sale of surplus 
lands, while one company (the Isle of Pines Company) is entirely speculative. 

He makes the following further statement descriptive of these com- 
panies and what they had been doing : 

Isle of Fines Company. — J. A. Hill, of New York, president. General offices, 
Si-y3 Fifth avenue, New York. Incorporated under the laws of the State of 



ISLE OF PINES. 9 

New Jersey. Company holds some 106,775 acres of land, for which it paid 
$174,000, and claims to have made improvements to the amount of $75,000. 
This company is purely speculative; has not sold any land, but is holding for 
higher prices. 

The Isle of Pines Land and Development Company. — Ira A. Brown (Colum- 
bia. Isle of Pines), president. Incorporated under the laws of the State of 
Iowa. Capitalized at $20,000. Forty shares of the par value of $500 each. 
Company holds title to 22,218 acres of land (Santa Rosalie estate). Purchased 
August 4, 1901. One hundred acres and a lot in the town of Columbia have been 
allotted to each of the original 40 shareholders. The prospectus of this com- 
pany, containing a plat of their lands, is inclosed, marked 2. A list of the 
stockholders and amount of land allotted to each is now being prepared by the 
secretary of the company and will be forwarded as soon as received. 

The Santa Fe Land Company. — Robert I. Wall, president. Incorporated 
under the laws of Iowa. Capital, $150,000. The amount of land purchased by 
this company is 27,437 acres, for which it paid $25,500. The purchase of this 
tract was made February 2, 1903. The land has not yet been allotted among the 
shareholders. I inclose a list showing the name and address of each share- 
holder of this company and the amount of stock subscribed for by each. I also 
inclose the printed prospectus of the company. 

The Almacigos Springs Land Company. — Capital stock, $70,000, divided into 
140 shares of the par value of $500, each share representing 100 acres of land. 
The Almacigos tract was purchased September 29, 1902, for $30,000. This com- 
pany also holds the Calabaza tract, making in all some 14,000 acres. I inclose 
a list of the stockholders, with residence and amount subscribed for by each, 
and a draft or plat of the real estate held by the company. 

Since this report was made by Mr. Squiers other companies of a 
similar character and for similar purposes have been organized, 
among them notably the Canada Land and Fruit Company, a cor- 
poration organized under the laws of Wisconsin. 

These companies in their advertisements scattered throughout the 
United States have generally represented that the Isle of Pines was 
a possession of the United States and that citizens of the United 
States acquiring property and establishing residences there would be 
under the protection, jurisdiction, and Government of the United 
States. In this way, rather than by any act of the Government or 
any official having authority to bind the Government of the United 
States, people who have gone to the Isle of Pines have been misled, if 
they have been misled at all. 

The Senate is under no obligation, therefore, to deal with this ques- 
tion differently from what it otherwise would because citizens of the 
United States have seen fit to locate in the Isle of Pines, and the sole 
question to be determined with respect to the ratification of this 
treaty is whether or not, under all the facts and circumstances exhib- 
ited by the record cited, it is the duty of the United States to relin- 
quish title to the Isle of Pines in favor of Cuba as provided in this 
treaty. 

If there were no other considerations than such as are presented by 
this record, it would seem that the title to the Isle of Pines did not 
pass to the United States by the treaty of peace with Spain and that 
the true construction of article 2 of the treaty of Paris should be 
that the cession " of the island of Porto Rico and other islands now 
under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies " had reference to the 
islands of Culebra and Vieques, east of Porto Rico, and the island of 
Mona to the west, and was not intended to convey the Isle of Pines 
or any other of the keys and islets near the coast of Cuba, which 
always theretofore had been and now are considered as an integral 
part of that island, both geographically and politically. 

But there is another consideration of commanding importance in 



10 ISLE OF PINES. 

favor of the ratification of this treaty. It is recited in the second 
article of this treaty itself in the following language : 

This relinquishment, on the part of the United States of America, of claim 
of title to the said Isle of Pines is in consideration of the grants of coaling and 
naval stations in the island of Cuba heretofore made to the United States of 
America by the Republic of Cuba. 

This treaty was negotiated and sent to the Senate by the President 
of the United States. His assent to such a declaration, given in the 
light of a discharge of his oflicial and constitutional duty, is and should 
be regarded as a conclusive admission against the United States as to 
the fact recited, namely, that it was understood and agreed between 
the respective negotiating officials of Cuba and the United States 
that in consideration of the grants heretofore made by Cuba to the 
United States by the treaty with Cuba of February 23, 1903, for coal- 
ing and naval stations, the United States would on its part relinquish 
all title in favor of Cuba to the Isle of Pines. 

While such an understanding or agreement is not legally binding 
on the United States without ratification hy the Senate, yet it is 
morally binding, and equity and justice would seem to require that 
without respect to whether the United States has a good title to the 
Isle of Pines this treaty should be ratified. In view of this declara- 
tion it is unnecessary to cite, as might be done, facts, circumstances, 
and records to show that the Republic of Cuba gave us the naval and 
coaling stations provided for in the treaty of February 23, 1903, with 
the distinct understanding that she was not only giving us rights 
and privileges of the greatest value to us in partial discharge of her 
debt of gratitude to the United States for assisting her to acquire 
her independence of Spain, but also as a consideration for the relin- 
quishment of the disputed title to the Isle of Pines, which she claimed 
as one of her possessions and greatly desired to retain. 

A failure to ratify this treaty might well be claimed by Cuba to be, 
under all the circumstances, a sufficient justification to her to abrogate 
and annul, in so far as she may have power to do so, her treaty with 
the United States of February 23, 1903, under which we acquired the 
valuable naval and coaling stations as therein provided, for the con- 
struction and improvement of which we have been making such large 
expenditures. Whether this would give us any serious trouble or not 
is immaterial. It would be at least disagreeable and unfortunate, 
because it would put the United States in the attitude of having 
failed to perform its part of a moral obligation after value therefor 
had been fully received. 

So far as the protestants residing in the Isle of Pines are con- 
cerned, they are fully protected under the terms of this treaty in all 
their rights and privileges with respect to the property which they 
have acquired, the provision of Article III of the treaty being as 
follows : 

Citizens of the United States of America who, at the time of the exchange of 
ratifications of this treaty, shall be residing or holding property in the island of 
Pines shall suffer no diminution of the rights and privileges which they have 
acquired prior to the date of exchange of ratifications of this treaty ; they may 
remain there or may remove therefrom, retaining in either event all their rights 
of property, including the right to sell or dispose of such property or of its pro- 
ceeds ; and tbey shall also have the right to carry on their industry, commerce, 
and professions, being subject in respect thereof to such laws as are applicable 
to other foreigners. 



ISLE OF PINES. 11 

Since this treaty was negotiated and since objections to its ratifica- 
tion were filed by the protestants, the Cuban Republic has granted 
practically all that the protestants have asked for with respect to the 
improvement by the Republic of Cuba of its government of the Isle of 
Pines. 

While naturally it will not be so satisfactory to these citizens of the 
United States to continue under the government of the Republic of 
Cuba as it would be to live under the jurisdiction and government of 
the United States, particularly in view of the fact that they will 
probably expect to find in the United States markets for their 
products, on which they will be required to pay tariff duties, in order 
to avail themselves of these markets, if they do not become domestic 
territory of the United States, yet there is nothing in this fact that 
affords any justification for the United States to refuse to ratify this 
treaty, because it is necessary to the full discharge of our obligations 
in the premises. 



Since the foregoing was prepared the Secretary of State, Mr. Root, 
wrote a letter, under date of November 27, 1905, addressed to Mr. 
Charles Reynard, president of The American Club of the Isle of Pines, 
West Indies, of which the following is a copy: 

Department op State, 
Washington, November 27, 1905. 

Dear Sir: I have received your letter of October 25, in which you say: "Kindly 
advise me at your very earliest convenience the necessary procedure to establish a 
territorial form of government for the Isle of Pines, West Indies, U. S. A." 

It is no part of the duty of the Secretary of State to give advice upon such subjects. 
I think it proper, however, to answer your inquiry so far as it may be necessary to 
remove an error under which you appear to rest concerning the status of the Isle of 
Pines and your rights as residents of that island. 

There is no procedure by which you and your associates can lawfully establish a 
territorial government in that island. The island is lawfully subject to the control 
and government of the Republic of Cuba, and you and your associates are bound to 
render obedience to the laws of that country so long as you remain on the island. If 
you fail in that obedience you will be justly liable to prosecution in the Cuban 
courts and to such punishment as may be provided by the laws of Cuba for such 
offenses as you commit. You are not likely to have any greater power in the future. 
The treaty now pending before the Senate, if approved by that body, will relinquish 
all claim of the United States to the Isle of Pines. In my judgment the United 
States has no substantial claim to the Isle of Pines. The treaty merely accords to 
Cuba what is hers in accordance with international law and justice. 

At the time of the treaty of peace which ended the war between the United States 
and Spain the Isle of Pines was and had been for several centuries a part of Cuba. 
I have no doubt whatever that it continues to be a part of Cuba and that it is not and 
never has been territory of the United States. This is the view with which Presi- 
dent Roosevelt authorized the pending treaty, and Mr. Hay signed it, and I expect 
to urge its confirmation. Nor would the rejection of the pending treaty put an end 
to the control of Cuba over the island. A treaty directly contrary to the one now 
pending would be necessary to do that, and there is not the slightest prospect of such 
a treaty being made. You may be quite sure that Cuba will never consent to give up 
the Isle of Pines and that the United States will never try to compel her to give it 
up against her will. 

Very respectfully, 

Elihu Root. 

Charles Raynard, Esq., 

President of American Club of the Isle of Pines, West Indies. 



12 ISLE OF PINES. 

To this letter from Mr. Root, Mr. Reynard made the following- 
answer, which was published in the issue of the Isle of Pines Appeal 
for Monday, December 25, 1905, namely: 

Santa Rosalie Heights, 
Isle of Pines, W. I, December 14, 1905. 
Sir: On December 4 I replied briefly by cable to the letter of November 27, with 
which you favored me in reply to mine of October 25. I have since then carefully 
considered your letter, together with the members of the American Club and others 
of our fellow-citizens interested, and in their behalf, as well as for myself, I respect- 
fully invite your attention to the following statement: 

You say in your letter, "The Isle of Pines is lawfully subject to the control and 
government of the Republic of Cuba." This we emphatically deny. We regret 
that you did not see fit to give some reason for the bold and unsupported statement 
which you make. We beg to submit the following reasons in support of our denial . 
of that statement: 

The Republic of Cuba exists solely by virtue of the Cuban constitution. That 
constitution was adopted, ratified, promulgated, and put in force by the sole authority 
of the United States. Beyond the scope of that constitution the Cuban Republic has 
no powers whatever. By the terms of that constitution itself the Isle of Pines is 
expressly excluded from the constitutional boundaries of Cuba. Until that consti- 
tutional limitation is removed, and until, by some of the known, recognized, and. 
lawful methods by which a sovereign state may acquire an extension of its territory, 
the Isle of Pines becomes incorporated in the Republic of Cuba, the government of 
that Republic can no more exercise lawful control over it than over Key West or the 
peninsula of Florida itself. 

Further, by that section of the act of Congress approved March 2, 1901, which is 
commonly called the Piatt amendment, the Isle of Pines was expressly excluded 
from Cuban territory. That act of Congress is still in full force. Until its provisions 
respecting Cuba are repealed or modified by the Congress of the United States or in 
some other lawful way they have the force of law and the Government of the United 
States and every officer and department of that Government is bound by them, per- 
sonal opinions of any government officials, however high in station, to the contrary 
notwithstanding. 

We maintain, therefore, that in usurping and continuing to exercise any meas- 
ure of political control over the Isle of Pines up to this day the Cuban Government 
has acted unlawfully and in violation of the plain provisions of the Cuban constitu- 
tion. And we maintain further that the Government of the United States and any 
officers of that Government who have knowingly consented to or connived at such 
usurpation on the part of the Cuban Government have acted unlawfully and in vio- 
lation of the plain provisions of the act of Congress of the United States referred to. 
In your letter of November 27 you state further: "You and your associates are 
bound to render obedience to the laws of that country (Cuba) so long as you remain 
in the island (Isle of Pines). If you fail in that obedience, you will be justly liable 
to prosecution in the Cuban courts and to such punishment as may be provided by 
the laws of Cuba for such offenses as you commit." This, we submit, is only an 
erroneous conclusion on your part from the untenable statement pre viously quoted 
from your letter. We are unable to conceive how the laws of Cuba can bein force 
in a territory in which the constitution of Cuba, by its own terms, is not in force, 
and to which Cuban authority has never been extended by conquest or treaty. We 
must decline to acknowledge the duty of obedience to the laws of an alien country 
while we are within a territory from which such alien jurisdiction has been expressly 
excluded by the laws of our own country. 
Your letter states, also: 

" In my judgment the United States has no substantial claim to the Isle of Pines 
* * * I have no doubt whatever that it continues to be a part of Cuba and that 
it is not and never has been territory of the United States. ' ' 

We regret sincerely that your opinion as to the validity of the American claim to 
the Isle of Pines should be so directly opposed, not only to our own, but to the 
opinions expressed on the same subject by the late President McKinley, by your 
distinguished predecessor in office, Secretary Hay, and by the late military governor 
of Cuba, Gen. Leonard Wood. That President McKinley did believe that the island 
was ceded by Spain to the United States is easily shown by his action in directing 
the dispatch of an official communication from the War Department, dated August 
14, 1899, in which occur these words: "This island was ceded by Spain to the United 
states, and is, therefore, a part of our territory, although it is attached at present to 



ISLE OF PINES. 13 

the division of Cuba for governmental purposes * * * and * * * the dispo- 
sition of public lands must await the action of Congress." This very explicit state- 
ment was made more than six months after the treaty of Paris had been ratified by 
the Senate of the United States, and therefore after there had been ample time for 
reaching a sound conclusion as to the meaning and effect of the terms by which, in 
the treaty, the extent of the cession of territory made by Spain was to be distinguished 
from the relinquishment of sovereignty which applied solely to Cuba. 

President McKinley, acting on the same conclusion, directed that the Isle of Pines 
be placed as American territory on the great maps issued by the Government of the 
United States which show all the territory belonging to the United States. This 
action was public notice to all the world that the United States Government not only 
had a substantial claim to the Isle of Pines, but that no doubt was entertained of the 
validity of that claim. Moreover, the late Secretary Hay clearly and openly expressed 
his opinion, based on the same considerations, doubtless, which had led President 
McKinley to form his conclusion, that the island was and should remain an American 
possession. And, finally, General Wood, only a few days before the termination of the 
American occupation of Cuba openly expressed the same opinion and gave emphatic 
assurances to some of the American citizens interested that the American control of the 
island would be continued after the island of Cuba had been delivered to the Cuban 
Government. It will not surprise you, therefore, if we decline to accept your brief 
and unsupported conclusion, above quoted, but prefer to adhere to the conclusions 
reached by President McKinley, Secretary Hay, and General Wood, the reasons for 
which have repeatedly been published, making it unnecessary to repeat them here. 

Further, we are informed and believe that you yourself, when Secretary of War, 
acting on the advice or recommendation of the legal adviser of the Bureau of Insular 
Affairs, directed the military governor of Cuba, on or about May 16, 1902, in view of 
the inauguration of the Cuban Government then about to occur, to take steps to con- 
tinue the then existing government in the Isle of Pines as a de facto government, 
pending the settlement, by treaty, of any question as to the title to or jurisdiction 
over that island. Such a course indicated an intention to respect and comply with 
the provisions of the act of Congress of March 2, 1901, above referred to, and to pro- 
vide for the continuation of the American control of the island until a final decision 
of any pending questions could be lawfully reached. In his address delivered to the 
President of the Cuban Eepublic on the occasion of the institution of the Cuban 
Government, on May 20, 1902, the military governor announced to the Cuban Gov- 
ernment that the existing government in the Isle of Pines would be so continued — 
that is, that the American authority in the island would continue — pending the nego- 
tiation of a treaty covering the question in dispute, but he failed entirely to take any 
steps whatever to carry out the intention so announced. By this failure and neglect 
alone and for no other cause that can be imagined, the Cuban Government, inaugu- 
rated on that day, was permitted to assume control over the Isle of Pines, in violation 
of the express terms of the constitution by which it derived its right to exist and in 
total disregard of the act of Congress which permitted it to come into existence. 
That control, so usurped, has continued to be exercised from that day to this, with- 
out our recognition of its validity and in spite of our repeated protests against it. It 
is much to be regretted that in your letter to me or in any public utterance of yours 
you have not seen fit to explain to your fellow citizens what instructions were given 
by you, as Secretary of War, on this point and why any instructions that may have 
been given, looking to the fulfillment of the provisions of the act of Congress, were 
permitted by you to be disregarded and why no steps were taken by you or your 
successor to correct the deplorable results of such apparent neglect and disobedience 
on the part of your subordinate. 

It is further observed by us that it was not until after this breach of duty and viola- 
tion of law had resulted in the betrayal of our interests to an alien government you, 
as Secretary of War, in opposition to the known and expressed wishes of Mr. John 
Hay, then Secretary of State, insisted on the negotiation of the treaty, which has 
never been confirmed, by which the American claim to the Isle of Pines was sought 
to be abandoned in favor of the Cuban Republic, thus covering up and concealing by 
the sanction of law the illegal acts and omissions of the Department of the Govern- 
ment over which you presided at the time and for which you were responsible. 

Your letter states further: "You may be quite sure that Cuba will never consent 
to give up the Isle of Pines, and that the United States will never try to compel her to 
give it up against her will." 

With the first part of that statement, considered as a prediction, we are not con- 
cerned. We are prepared to maintain and are maintaining that Cuba is not lawfully 
or rightfully in possession of the island. We know that one Department, at least, of 
our Government at Washington has refused to recognize and has, in fact, distinctly 



14 ISLE OF PINES. 

repudiated the claim of Cuba to the island as a part of her territory. We are confi- 
dent of our ability, if a hearing is granted to us, to demonstrate the absolute correct- 
ness of our position on this question, and we have enough confidence in the sense of 
justice and the law-abiding character of our fellow-citizens of the United States and 
of the greater part of our own Government to feel sure that, once that demonstration 
has been made, they will never consent to the deliberate abandonment of a part of 
the national territory and a number of their fellow-citizens to an alien power, and 
that means will easily be found by which the United States will resume the control 
of the island, unlawfully abandoned by you, with or without the consent of any 
foreign power whatever. 

You also state that "the rejection of the pending treaty would not put an end to 
the control of Cuba over the island. A treaty directly contrary to the one now pend- 
ing would be necessary to do that." From such a statement we emphatically dis- 
sent. The pending treaty has for its motive and its purpose the consummation of a 
wrong which is at present incomplete. The rejection of the treaty by the Senate of 
the United States or by the Congress of the United States would put an end to fur- 
ther attempts in that direction and would leave the status of the Isle of Pines exactly 
what it was before the attempt to betray us was conceived. That status would be 
determined by the law of the United States, to say nothing of the constitution of 
Cuba. It is the sworn duty of the President of the United States to enforce the laws 
of the United States, and we firmly believe that he will enforce the law relating to 
the Isle of Pines as faithfully as he enforces the laws against any form of robbery. 
To accept your dictum on this point is to acknowledge that a treaty with a foreign 
power is required to undo a wrong attempted against American citizens but frustrated 
by them. 

You lay stress on the statement that "the Isle of Pines was and has been for sev- 
eral centuries a part of Cuba." Geographically the island is not a part of Cuba. 
Politically it was a part of the Spanish dominions, just as Porto Rico and the Philip- 
pines were. Administratively it has recently been a part of the Spanish government 
of Cuba, just as the districts of east and west Florida were long a part of the same 
district government. But, granting all that you mean by the statement last quoted, 
it does not follow that the Isle of Pines was included in the territory over which 
Spain relinquished her sovereignty by the treaty of Paris rather than in the territory 
which was ceded by that treaty to the United States. The right of Spain to cede it 
was as good as her right to relinquish it, whether it was or was not a part of Cuba, 
politically, geographically, or administratively. The only question worth consider- 
ing in this connection is whether Spain intended to and did cede the island to the 
United States and whether the United States accepted the cession in its favor or 
whether the island was included in the relinquishment made by Spain in favor of a 
Cuban state to be erected by the United States. 

That the Spanish commissioners who assisted in the negotiation of the treaty and 
in the drawing of the instrument believed that they were consenting, on behalf of 
their country, to a cession of territory, which included the Isle of Pines, to the United 
States is apparent from the language employed by them in an appendix to protocol 
No. 9, presented to the American Commissioners at the meeting held on October 21, 
1898, which, as officially published by the United States, says that the United States 
"did claim sovereignty over * * * the islands surrounding Cuba which will 
render impossible the independence of the latter, without the good will and gracious 
consent of the United States, which will always have it at their mercy, through their 
control over the islands which inclose it as a band of iron." The Isle of Pines 
nowhere approaches the Cuban coast within 50 miles. There can be no doubt that 
the Spanish commissioners at Paris intended and believed that they were ceding the 
island to the United States. • The American Commissioners never expressed any dis- 
sent from the statement of the Spaniards on this point. Nor can there be any doubt 
that President McKinley, who dictated or approved every provision of the treaty, so 
understood and interpreted it. The official declaration of the War Department, of 
August 13, 1899, the action of the Interior Department with respect to the official 
maps of the United States territories, above referred to, neither of which could have 
been possible without the order or approval of President McKinley, sustain the same 
view. 

The more recent action of the Treasury Department, in refusing to concede to the 
products of the Isle of Pines exported to the United States the reduction of duties 
granted to Cuban products under the provisions of the reciprocity treaty with Cuba, 
was based expressly on the ground that by act of Congress the Isle of Pines was not 
Cuban territory and the Department must be governed by that act until it should be 
repealed or lawfully nullified. In fact, not a single Department of the Government 
of the United States has ever recognized the Cuban claim to the island except the 



ISLE OF PINES. 15 

Department of State. And it ia a very atriking fact that the State Department itaelf 
never expressed any doubt on the subject until after the island had been allowed, by 
the neglect or disobedience of a military subordinate, to fall into Cuban hands, after 
which the Department was confronted by the alternative of acknowledging and cor- 
recting the wrong then committed or of condoning and concealing it by the negotia- 
tion of such a treaty as is now awaiting the action of the Senate. 

We regret sincerely that in your letter of November 27 you saw fit to limit your- 
self to a bare statement of what you profess to consider as facts, certain conclusions 
which you profess to draw from such facts, and predictions as to what will or will not 
happen in the future. It may be that you do not consider it within the scope of 
your duty as Secretary of State to impart to your fellow-citizens the reasons for your 
concluaions any more than to give to your countrymen the advice which I respect- 
fully solicited from you in my former letter. In the total absence of any such rea- 
aons in support of your position we prefer to stand by the conclusions reached by 
President McKinley, Secretary Hay, and Secretary Shaw, the reasons for which are 
stated above only in part, and which are diametrically opposite to yours. 

To resume, then, we maintain that the Isle of Pines is and has been, ever since 
the confirmation of the treaty of Paris, American territory; that the Cuban Govern- 
ment has not and never has had any lawful right to exercise any control whatever 
in or over that territory; that such control as has been usurped and exercised by 
that Government is based on a breach of duty by a subordinate American officer and 
is in violation of the law of the United States and the Cuban constitution itself; that 
we have not attempted and will not attempt to deprive the Republic of Cuba of 
any of its lawful possessions by secession, insurrection, or revolution, and that we 
have no other end in view than the defense of American territory and of our inter- 
ests lawfully acquired in it, and of our birthright as American citizens. In thia 
effort we feel that we should be entitled to receive your support in the discharge of 
your sworn duty; to our astonishment and deep regret we find you arrayed on the 
side of our enemies. And even more deeply do we regret the appearance, for the 
first time in the history of our country, of American Secretary of State who is not 
only willing but anxious to abandon a portion of American territory and a large 
number of American citizens to an alien and lawless Government, for no consideration 
and for motives which he seems unwilling to disclose. 
Very respectfully, 

Charles Reynard, 
President American Club of the Isle of Pines, West Indies, U. S. A. 

Hon. Elihu Root, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 



In this letter Mr. Reynard claims that Secretary Root differs in the 
view he expresses as to the status of the Isle of Pines from the view 
entertained on that subject by President McKinley, Secretary Hay, 
and General Wood. 

A complete answer as to what is said as to each of these men is found 
in the report heretofore submitted. 

The treaty itself answers for Mr. Hay. 

The indorsement by General Wood under date, Washington, Febru- 
ary 20, 1903, pages 7 and 8 of the report, makes conclusive answer as to 
General Wood. The recitation by General Wood in this order of the 
fact that "the action taken by the military government was in accord- 
ance with telegraphic orders from the honorable the Secretary of War" 
is official and conclusive answer as to the attitude at that time of Mr. 
Root, then Secretary of War. 

So far as President McKinley is concerned, the statement of Mr. 
Reynard is "That President McKinley did believe that the island was 
ceded by Spain to the United States is easily shown by his action in 
directing the dispatch of an official communication from the War 
Department, dated August 14, 1899, in which occur these words: 
' This island was ceded by Spain to the United States and is, there- 
fore,^ part of our territory, although it is attached at present to the 
division of Cuba for governmental purposes * * * and * * * 



16 ISLE OF PINES. 

the disposition of public lands must await the action of Congress.' 
This very explicit statement was made more than six months after the 
treaty of Paris had been ratified," etc. 

At pages 29 and 30 of the report will be found two communica- 
tions from the War Department, under date of August 14, 1899, one 
addressed to Mr. John B. Aultman, St. Louis, Mo., and the other 
addressed to Mr. George Bridges, Carlisle, Pa., both signed John J. 
Pershing, assistant adjutant-general. The language quoted as used 
by direction of President McKinley will be found embraced in these 
two communications. But these communications, instead of having 
been directed by President McKinley, were both directed, as shown 
by the communications themselves, by the Assistant Secretary of War, 
who at that time was Mr. G. D. Meiklejohn. Mr. Meiklejohn wrote 
other letters, as shown at pages 31 and 32 of the report, to the same 
effect; but, as stated in the report, Mr. Meiklejohn had no authority so 
to speak for the Government of the United States or to bind the Gov- 
ernment of the United States by anything he saw fit to say on the 
subject. 

As to the statement made by Mr. Reynard that President McKinley 
directed that the Isle of Pines be placed on maps of the United States, 
there is nothing of record to indicate such to be the fact. The fol- 
lowing letters from the Interior and War Departments contain all the 
information on that subject that it has been possible to gather: 

Department of the Interior, 

Washington, February 2, 1906. 
Hon. J. B. Foraker, 

Chairman of Subcommittee on Committee on Foreign Relations, 

United States Senate. 

Sir: Your letter of the 24th ultimo has been received, requesting to be advised 
what the records of the Department show as to the correctness or incorrectness of the 
following statement contained in a letter now in the hands of your subcommittee: 

"President McKinley * * * directed that the Isle of Pines be placed as 
American territory on the great maps issued by the United States, which show all 
the territory belonging to the United States." 

You also request to be advised as to any maps issued by the Department of the 
Interior, showing this island as belonging to the United States, and the particular 
edition upon which it appears. 

In response thereto, I have the honor to transmit herewith for your information a 
copy of a letter from the Commissioner of the General Land Office, to whom the 
matter was referred, and in wbose office the maps of the United States are pre- 
pared, submitting such information upon the subject of your inquiry as it is 
practicable for him to supply. 

It will be observed therefrom that no instructions or directions from President 
McKinley of the character indicated are found in his office, and the records of the 
Department proper likewise fail to afford any information on the subject. 

As a matter of information, it may be stated that at the time the inset map of the 
Isle of Pines, Cuba, was placed on the map of the United States the Hon. Binger 
Hermann was Commissioner of the General Land Office, and as he is now a member 
of the House of Repi'esentatives he may be able to supply definite information upon 
the subject. 

Very respectfully, E. A. Hitchcock, Secretary. 



Department op the Interior, 

General Land Office, 
Washington, B. C, January 25, 1906. 
Hon. Secretary, Department of the Interior. 

Sir: Referring to brief initialed "W. B. A.," upon back of letter of same date from 
Hon. J. B. Foraker, United States Senate, asking immediate report upon a request of 
Senator Foraker for copies of instructions alleged to be issued by President McKinley 



ISLE OF PINES. 17 

to this Department, relative to the placing upon the United States map of the inset 
map of the Isle of Pines, Cuba, I have the honor to report that no instructions or 
directions of the character indicated are found in the records of this office. 

Relative to Senator Eoraker's second inquiry as to the maps issued by the Depart- 
ment, which show the Isle of Pines as an inset map, I have to state that the same 
appears first upon the United States map dated 1899, and second and last upon the 
map of 1902, no United States maps of dates 1900 and 1901 having been issued. The 
map of the Isle of Pines was not published as an inset upon the maps of 1903 and 1904. 

I am unable to state why this island was placed upon the map of 1899, but it is 
assumed that verbal instructions must have been given to the former chief of the 
drafting division, who had charge of the compilation of the United States map, it 
being hardly probable that he would assume the authority of placing such inset map 
upon the map of the United States without instructions of some kind. However, no 
such instructions, as noted above, are a matter of record. 

The inset map of the Isle of Pines was omitted from the maps of the United States 
of 1903 and 1904 for the reason that the act approved March 2, 1901, stated: "That 
the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries of 
Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty." In its place, upon 
the United States map, and occupying a somewhat larger area, was inserted the map 
of the Panama Canal and adjacent territory. 

The treaty with Cuba, ratified by the President June 25, 1904, reiterates in prac- 
tically the same language the act of March 2, 1901, quoted above. Senator Foraker's 
letter returned herewith. 

Very respectfully, W. A. Richards, Commissioner. 



War Department, 
Bureau op Insular Affairs, 

Washington, January 36, 1906. 
Sir: I have the honor, by direction of the Secretary of War, to acknowledge the 
receipt of your letter of the 24th instant, asking as to the truth of the statement 
before you that President McKinley directed that the Isle of Pines be placed on the 
United States as American territory, and if such maps were published by the Depart- 
ment of the Interior, the date of their issue. 

In reply you are respectfully informed that no record can be found of any state- 
ment of the character above indicated in the files of this Bureau. I should state 
in this connection that copies of all correspondence and papers on file in this Bureau 
relating to the Isle of Pines were transmitted to the President of the Senate pro tem- 
pore on January 11, 1904, in pursuance of a resolution of the Senate of January 7, 1904. 
I had the matter to which your letter refers brought to the attention of the Interior 
Department, and while they state that they have no record of any such order from 
President McKinley in the editions of 1899 and 1902, the Isle of Pines was shown 
in the same color as the United States, thus indicating that it was United States ter- 
ritory. They also state that they are in receipt of a letter from you of the same pur- 
port, and I therefore presume that the matter will be explained to you in a commu- 
nication from that Department. 

Very respectfully, C. R. Edwards, 

Colonel, U. S. Army, Chief of Bureau. 
Hon. J. B. Foraker, 

United States Senate. 

The following communication, sent to members of the Committee on 
Foreign Relations Jannary 24, 1906, is published herewith as a part of 
this report for the purpose of giving the Senate the benefit of the 
statements which it sets forth, attention being called particularly to 
the protest contained in this communication against any amendment 
of the treaty so as to further safeguard the interests of Americans 
residing on the island: 

To tJie honorable chairman and members of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

United States Senate. 

Gentlemen: It has come to my knowledge that representations are being made 
from Cuban sources to the effect that there is comparatively a small number of Amer- 
ican property owners on the Isle of Pines who have their titles to land recorded 
according to the old Spanish laws now in vogue in that island under its present 
alleged de facto Cuban government. This allegation, even if it be true, would be of 

S. Doc. 205, 59-1 2 



18 ISLE OF PINES. 

comparatively little importance, because it in no wise indicates how many Americans 
have bona fide holdings of real estate in the island for which they paid their cash. 

Few Americans care to pay exorbitant sums to have their land titles recorded 
under the old Spanish system. They believe, under American law, that contracts 
for deeds, or other unrecorded instruments conveying title, would serve as ample 
security until such time as prevailing laws under American authority could be 
brought to some degree of simplicity and the fees for recording titles could be reduced 
to figures somewhere near commensurate to the services rendered. 

It costs the people of the Isle of Pines from $30 to $50 to record an ordinary real 
estate title under the present laws in force. In the United States the same deeds 
could be recorded for $2 or $3. It costs hundreds of dollars to record some deeds 
under Cuban laws, and there are instances where in small holdings it would cost 
more to record the deed than to purchase the property. 

We can produce the names of at least 2,000 American citizens who own property 
in the Isle of Pines. 

We challenge anyone to produce the names of 100 actual Cuban citizens who now 
own property on the Isle oi Pines, no matter what the Cuban official record of deeds 
may apparently show. 

Proportionately nine-tenths of the real estate of the island is owned by American 
citizens. 

This comparatively large purchase of property was due to the assurances of offi- 
cials of the War Department that the Isle of Pines would be retained under Ameri- 
can jurisdiction. These assurances were made often and to many people who either 
had purchased or were intending to purchase real estate on the island. I would 
venture the assertion that without such assurances not a dozen of the Americans now 
living there could have been induced to give up their homes in the States and go to 
the Isle of Pines, even as prospectors under salary, much less take the risk of invest- 
ing in property which they knew would be subject to Cuban jurisdiction. 

It is quite generally understood now that argument is being advanced to the effect 
that the Isle of Pines should be ceded to Cuba by the pending treaty so amended by 
provisions and safeguards that American interests would be protected on the island. 
I desire, as the chosen representative of the American citizens on the Isle of Pines, 
to enter my most earnest and emphatic protest against any such plan. 

As I understand the scheme proposed by Cubans, it included the administration 
of the island as a colony of Cuba after its cession to Cuba, in the pending treaty on 
the part of the United States. Such a plan would be an utter failure and would 
operate to ' ' freeze out ' ' pretty nearly all the American property holders on the island. 

We could not have anything to say whatever about our government as a colony of 
Cuba or as a part of Cuba, unless we renounced our American citizenship, which very 
few, if any of us, would be willing to do. We could not vote without first swearing 
allegiance to Cuba. We would then be subject entirely to the caprice of Cuban 
officials. Our experience during the past three years with them has been such as to 
prove to us, beyond even a reasonable doubt, that we would be subjected to all sorts 
of devices and schemes for the extortion of money, some or all of which might never 
be remitted to either the insular or the Cuban treasury, and which certainly would 
not be expended for the improvement or benefit of the island. We believe that it 
would be a grafting government, pure and simple, run to enrich a few Cuban offi- 
cials, while w T e as aliens could neither vote nor hold office of trust, but would be 
easy plucking for those in authority over us. 

Then, under these conditions, what avail would be our appeals to the United States 
for protection under a treaty with its so-called "safeguards?" Probably nil. We 
would have no means to reach the ears of what might be perhaps a hostile American • 
executive and no official way of appealing to the American people or to Congress. 

We would be tender lambs indeed, abandoned to the mercies of the wolf. 

We would be without friends and without even a country. 

It is no small responsibility for the Senate of the United States to take such a 
stand, namely, to deprive the American citizens in the Isle of Pines of their birth- 
rights of citizenship, their property, and their homes, and force them to live as aliens 
under a foreign flag. We protest most vigorously against any such a procedure. 

First. Because we had assurances from the War Department, from General Wood 
and his subordinates, from statements made by former Secretary Hay, from the 
actions of the Interior Department, including the Isle of Pines in American territory 
by direction of President McKinley, and from the procedure of the Treasury in col- 
lecting full customs on goods shipped from the Isle of Pines to the United States 
under the Dingley law; whereas if we were regarded as a part of Cuba, we would 
have had the reductions provided by the reciprocity treaty with Cuba. 

Second. Because we believe that both Houses of Congress, as well as the citizens 
of the United States in this country and in the Isle of Pines, ought to pass upon 
such a momentous question as cession of American territory to a foreign jurisdiction, 



ISLE OF PINES. 19 

even under the most stringent safeguards and regulations which a treaty could 
provide. 

Third. Because we have plainly indicated that we do not believe the Cubans, under 
any form of treaty whatsoever, bound around with restrictions and reservations 
whatever way the most skillful lawyers could devise, could be restricted and obliged 
to administer a government for the best interests of American citizens living in the Isle 
of Pines. 

Here is an instance with regard to the enforcement of certain Cuban laws. It is 
unlawful to allow cattle to run at large on the Isle of Pines. There was an Ameri- 
can who had his orange trees destroyed by cattle breaking through his fence. He 
corraled the cattle and filed a claim for damages The alcalde then appointed his 
private secretary and the owner of the cattle to appraise the damages. The follow- 
ing day the claimant was notified to appear and was told by the judge never to enter 
the court with a complaint of this kind again. The case was dismissed. I was an 
eyewitness to this affair, and I would not accept §100 and bear the damages inflicted 
on those orange trees. 

This is one of hundreds of affairs of this kind. The less said about Cuban courts 
the better. At the present time there are more American property owners in the 
Isle of Pines than there are in Porto Kico. 

Again, may we plead with the honorable members of the United States Senate not 
to ratify a treaty depriving their fellow-citizens of that which righteously and hon- 
estly belongs to them. 

There are hundreds of American citizens who have invested their savings of the 
past fifteen or twenty years in their homes on the island, and by the ratification of 
the pending treaty they would virtually be stripped of all their earthly possessions, 
no matter what amending safeguards may be exacted by the Government of the 
United States. 

We who have had abundant experience fear to trust ourselves to the administra- 
tion of Spanish and Cuban laws, either by the courts or the executive officers, as they 
now exist in Cuba and the Isle of Pines. 

Ed. P. Eyan. 

On the subject of the protection of the rights and interests of Ameri- 
cans residing- in Cuba, attention is called to the following- provisions of 
the constitution of the Republic of Cuba as to property and personal 
rights which inure alike to the benefit of all citizens of the United 
States who may reside there either temporarily or permanently: 

CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTIES. 

A republican form of government is guaranteed, modeled after that 
of the United States: 

Title I. — The nation, its form of government, and its territory. 

Article 1. The people of Cuba are hereby constituted a sovereign and independent 
State and adopt a republican form of government. 

Art. 2. The territory of the Republic is composed of the island of Cuba, as well 
as the adjacent islands and keys, which, together therewith, were under the sover- 
eignty of Spain until the ratification of the treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898. 

Art. 3. The territory of the Republic shall be divided into six provinces, as they 
exist at present, and with the same boundaries, the provincial council of each to 
determine their respective names. 

The provinces may be incorporated with each other or divided into new provinces 
through actions that may be agreed upon by the respective provincial councils and 
approved by Congress. 

Foreigners residing within the territory enjoy all the rights, privi- 
leges, and immunities of Cuban citizens excepting political rights. 

Title III. — Foreigners. 

Art. 10. Foreigners residing within the territory of the Republic shall have the 
same rights and obligations as Cubans — 
First. As to protection of their persons and properties. 



20 ISLE OF PINES. 

Second. As to the enjoyment of the rights guaranteed by Section I of the following 
title, excepting those exclusively reserved to citizens. 

Third. As to the enjoyment of civil rights under the conditions and limitations 
prescribed in the law of aliens. 

Fourth. As to the obligation of respecting and obeying the laws, decrees, regula- 
tions, and all other enactments that may be in force in the Republic. 

Fifth. As to submission to the jurisdiction and decisions of the courts of justice 
and all other authorities of the Republic. 

Sixth. As to the obligation of contributing to the public expenses of the State, 
province, and municipality. 

Life, liberty, and property are amply protected; the enumeration 
of these rights as contained in the constitution compare favorably 
with those of the most advanced governments; and the means for their 
enforcement and protection insure to all alike life, liberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness, the true ends of government. These rights are: 

Title IV. — Rights guaranteed by this constitution. 
Section First. — Individual rights. ' 

Akt. 11. All Cubans have equal rights before the law. The Republic does not 
recognize any personal privileges or special rights. 

Art. 12. No law shall have any retroactive effect, other than penal ones favorable 
to convicted or indicted persons. 

Art. 13. Obligations of a civil nature arising from contracts or other acts or omis- 
sions shall not be annulled or altered by either the legislature or Executive power. 

Art. 14. The penalty of death shall in no case be imposed for crimes of a political 
nature, which shall be defined by law. 

Art. 15. No person shall be arrested except in such cases and in the manner pre- 
scribed by law. 

Art. 16. Every person arrested shall be set at liberty or placed at the disposal of 
a competent judge or court within twenty-four hours immediately following the 
arrest. 

Art. 17. All persons arrested shall be set at liberty or their imprisonment ordered 
within seventy-two hours after having been placed at the disposal of the competent 
judge or court. Within the same time notice shall be served upon the party inter- 
ested of any action which may have been taken in the matter. 

Art. 18. No person shall be arrested except by warrant of a competent judge or 
court. The order directing the serving of the warrant of arrest shall be affirmed or 
reversed, after the accused shall have been heard in his defense, within seventy- two 
hours next following his imprisonment. 

Art. 19. No person shall be indicted or sentenced except by competent judge or 
court, by virtue of laws in force prior to the commission of the crime, and in such 
manner as therein prescribed. 

Art. 20. Any person arrested or imprisoned without legal formalities, or not in 
accordance with the provisions of this constitution and the laws, shall be set at lib- 
erty at his own request or that of any citizen. The law will determine the prompt 
action which shall be taken in the case. 

Art. 21. No person whatsoever is bound to give evidence against himself, nor 
husband or wife against each other, nor relatives within the fourth degree of con- 
sanguinity or second of affinity. 

Art. 22. All correspondence and other private documents are inviolable, and 
neither shall be seized or examined except by order of a competent authority and 
with the formalities prescribed by the laws, and in all cases all points therein not 
relating to the matter under investigation shall be kept secret. 

Art. 23. No person's domicile shall be violated; and therefore no one shall enter 
that of another at night, except by permission of its occupant, unless it be for the 
purpose of giving aid and assistance to victims of crime or accident; or in the day- 
time, except in such cases and manner as prescribed by law. 

Art. 24. No person shall be compelled to change his domicile or residence except 
by virtue of an order issued by a competent authority and in the manner prescribed 
by law. 

Art. 25. Every person may freely, without censorship, express his thoughts either 
by word of mouth or in writing, through the press, or in any other manner whatso- 
ever, subject to the responsibilities specified by law, whenever thereby attacks are 
made upon the honor of individuals, upon social order, and upon public peace. 



ISLE OF PINES. 21 

Art. 26. The profession of all religious beliefs as well as the practice of all forms 
of worship are free, without further restriction than that demanded by the respect for 
Christian morality and public order. The church shall be separated from the state, 
which shall in no case subsidize any religion. 

Art. 27. All persons shall have the right to address petitions to the authorities, to 
have them dulv acted upon, and to be informed of the action taken thereon. 

Art. 28. All inhabitants of the Republic have the right to assemble peacefully, 
unarmed, and to associate for all lawful pursuits of life. 

Art. 29. All persons shall have the right to enter into and depart from the terri- 
tory of the Republic, to travel within its boundaries, and to change their residence 
without requiring any safeguard, passport, or any other similar requisite, except as 
may be required by the laws governing immigration and by the authorities, in cases 
of criminal responsibility, by virtue of the powers vested in them. 

Art. 30. No Cuban shall be banished from the territory of the Republic or be pro- 
hibited from entering therein. 

Art. 31. Primary education is compulsory and shall be gratuitous, as also that of 
arts and trades. The expenses thereof shall be defrayed by the State during such 
time as the municipalities and provinces, respectively, may lack sufficient means 
therefor. Secondary and advanced education will be controlled by the State. How- 
ever, all persons may, without restriction, study or teach any science, art, or profes- 
sion, and found and maintain establishments of education and instruction; but it per- 
tains to the State to determine what professions shall require special titles, the 
conditions necessary for their practice, the necessary requirements to obtain the 
titles, and the issuing of the same as may be established by law. 

Art. 32. No person shall be deprived of his property, except by competent author- 
ity for the justified reason of public benefit, and after being duly indemnified for the 
same. Should the latter requirement not have been complied with, the judges and 
courts shall give due protection; and in such case they shall restore possession of the 
property to the person who may have been deprived thereof. 

Art. 33. In no case shall the penalty of confiscation of property be imposed. 

Art. 34. No person is obliged to pay any tax or impost not legally established 
and the collection whereof is not carried out in the manner prescribed by the laws. 

Art. 35. Every author or inventor shall enjoy the exclusive ownership of his work 
or invention for the time and in the manner determined by law. 

Art. 36. The enumeration of the rights expressly guaranteed by this constitution 
does not exclude others that may be based upon the principle of the sovereignty of 
the people and upon the republican form of government. 

Art. 37. The laws regulating the exercise of the rights which this constitution 
guarantees shall become null and void if they diminish, restrict, or change the said 
rights. 

Section Third. — Suspension of constitutional guarantees. 

Art. 40. The guarantees established in articles 15, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, and 27 of 
the first section of this title shall not be suspended throughout the entire Republic, 
or in any part thereof, except temporarily and when the safety of the State may 
require it, in cases of invasion of the territory or of serious disturbances that may 
threaten public peace. 

Art. 41 . The territory within which the guarantees determined in the preceding 
article may have been suspended shall be governed during the period of suspension 
by the law of public order, previously enacted, but neither in the said law,, or in 
any other, shall the suspension be ordered of any other guarantees than those 
already mentioned. Nor shall there be made, during the period of suspension, any 
declaration of new crimes, nor shall there be imposed other penalties than those 
established by the law in force at the time the suspension was ordered. 

The executive power is prohibited from banishing or exiling citizens to a greater 
distance than 120 kilometers from their domicile, and from holding them under arrest 
for more than ten days without turning them over to the judicial authorities, and from 
rearresting them during the period of the suspension of guarantees. Persons arrested 
shall not be detained except in special departments of public establishments used for 
the detention of persons indicted for ordinary offenses. 

Art. 42. The suspension of the guaranties specified in article 40 shall only be 
ordered by means of a law, or, when Congress is not in session, by a decree of the 
President of the Republic; but the latter shall not order the suspension more than 
once during the, period comprised between two legislatures, nor for an indefinite 
period of time, nor for more than thirty days, without convening Congress in the 
same order of suspension. In every case the President shall report to Congress for 
such action as Congress may deem proper. 



EXHIBITS. 



Exhibit A. 

[Confidential.— Executive D, Fifty-eighth Congress, second session.] 

LETTER 

FROM 

THE SECRETARY OF WAR, 

TRANSMITTING 

THE CORRESPONDENCE ON FILE IN THE OFFICES OF THE EXEC- 
UTIVE AND THE WAR DEPARTMENT RELATING TO THE ISLE OF 
PINES, WEST INDIES, CALLED FOR BY THE RESOLUTION OF THE 
SENATE, IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, OF JANUARY 7, 1904. 



January 14, 1904. — Ordered to lie on the table and to be printed in confidence for 

the use of the Senate. 



War Department, 

Washington, January 11, 1904. 
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith, in compliance with the 
following resolution of the Senate of the United States, dated January 
7, 1904— 

Resolved, That the President is requested, if in his opinion not incompatible with 
the public interest, to transmit to the Senate all correspondence or papers on file in 
the office of the Executive and the War Department relating to the Isle of Pines, 
West Indies — 

copies of all correspondence or papers on the files of the War Depart- 
ment and the late military government of Cuba, relating to the Isle 
of Pines, West Indies. 

Very respectfully, Elihu Root, 

Secretary of War. 

The President pro tempore United States Senate. 

23 



24 ISLE OP PINES. 

COPIES OF PAPERS FROM THE FILES OF THE BUREAU OF INSU- 
LAR AFFAIRS, WAR DEPARTMENT. 

[Official copy respectfully submitted Secretary of War direct in compliance with instructions.] 

Isle of Pines, February 22, 1899. 
Lieut. Col. Tasker H. Bliss, 

Chief of Customs Service, Habana, Cuba. 

Sir: In compliance with instructions contained in your letter of the 
7th instant, I have the honor to render the following report upon the 
Isle of Pines: 

This report is based upon some three weeks' experience in the island, 
as I had prior to this visit spent about one week here. I was unable 
to visit the southern part of the island, which is separated from the 
other by an impassable swamp and is accessible only by sea. In this 
southern section is found all the mahogany and other valuable hard- 
wood, but as my instructions did not contemplate the chartering of a 
vessel, I base my report in this particular upon conversations with 
reliable people. 

The geography of the island is already shown with sufficient accu- 
racy and detail in the map issued b} r the War Department. 

In general the surface is a plateau of an elevation of some fifty to a 
hundred feet above the sea, broken by ridges of hills or cliffs that 
project abruptly here and there above the generally level surface. 

The soil is generally of a firm sand mixed with some clay and gravel, 
which makes good roads even in rainy weather, by merely cleaning 
away the brush. 

The two mountain ridges at the northern end of the island have an 
elevation of some 1,500 feet, and are composed of lime, stone, and 
marble; the other ridges in the center of the island are much lower, 
less precipitous, and are found of gray sandstone and of red rock and 
gravel containing iron. 

The southern part of the island is composed of what is locally known 
as "Dogteeth " coral-rock and the southern coast is rocky and danger- 
ous, containing only one small harbor — "Carapachiray." On the 
southwest is a capacious anchorage, the Ciguanea, and from this 
anchorage vessels drawing 20 feet can pass northward around the 
island as far as New Gerona, inside the keys that lie some 6 miles off 
the coast. 

The whole island, with the exception of the rocky southern coast, 
is surrounded by mangrove swamps, with here and there a short 
stretch of sandy beach. 

The only two landings, New Gerona (on the Rio Las Casas) and 
Jucaro (on the Rio Santa Fe), are accessible by vessels drawing 5 feet 
of water or less, the bars at the river mouths being very shallow. 

The southern part of the island is covered with a dense growth of 
valuable hardwood. 

The central part bears yellow pine, mostly too small for lumber, 
though there are considerable tracts of very fair saw logs. As you 
approach the western, northern, and eastern coasts, the pine dis- 
appears and the country becomes a savanna covered with a thin grass, 
and dotted with scrubby trees and palmetto; it much resembles the 
barren parts of Florida. 



ISLE OF PINES. 25 

FORMER TAXES AND DUES. 

After careful investigation, I find the only land belonging to the 
State is contained in some 63 lots, each of some 50 acres, scattered 
about within 3 miles of New Gerona. These lots seem to be those left 
after the land had been picked over, as they are generally in the worst 
locations and practically worthless, containing nothing but mangrove 
scrubs, dwarf palmettos, and thin pine grass. 

A few of the lots are better and are in use as small farms, the resi- 
dents paying, it is understood, a nominal rent to the hacienda at 
Habana (no records on this point in the island). 

I can find no record of dues paid to the Crown for the privilege of 
exporting timber, but it is understood that contributions were arbi- 
trarily levied f rctn time to time by the military governor here. These 
" contributions " or "gratifications" were paid to secure immunity 
from official obstructions in the going and coming of vessels from the 
inaccessible points at which the lumber was gathered. 

It is presumable that a portion, at least, of those contributions was 
used for the benefit of the island, but no record appears to have been 
kept of the amount or disposition. 

The governor of the island legally collected dues for the slaughter- 
ing of cattle and for the selling of the meat, and also dues from stores 
and shops of all kinds. 

As a wood-chopper's camp would require beef — and would also prob- 
ably maintain a store for the sale of provisions — it became liable to 
dues; which on account of its usually inaccessible location were difficult 
of collection. 

To meet this difficulty, the governor devised a system of dues based 
upon the amounts of charcoal and cord wood exported, which dues 
were levied in lieu of those legally authorized. In accessible camps 
or "cuttings" the amount of export was actually ascertained; in other 
"cuttings," more inaccessible, a lump sum per month was exacted, 
based upon the number of men employed. 

The quantity of mangrove and other scrubby wood available for 
charcoal and cord wood is practicably unlimited, all the coast of the 
island and the keys to the north being covered with this growth, and 
the State does not appear to have collected any dues for the privilege 
of cutting. The dues seem to have been simply in the nature of town 
taxes, levied on wood-choppers' camps in order that they should not, 
by leaving the established towns, escape the burden of taxation. 

It is believed that the impression that dues were paid to the State 
for the use of its timber lands in the Isle of Pines has arisen from an 
erroneous understanding of the system explained above. 

Since the 1st of January the taxes just cited, like all others, have not 
been paid, the alcalde of the island, as well as the military governor 
(an officer of the Cuban army), either not feeling themselves sufficiently 
secure to enforce payment or finding it to their material interest to 
allow things to run themselves. 

As a consequence the bridges are in need of repair, the schools are 
closed, the clerks living from hand to mouth without any remuneration. 

The alcalde, himself a wealthy man, has not felt the inconvenience, 
and as he is said to be largely interested in woodcutting and charcoal 
trade, he is presumably satisfied to wait for orders from higher 
authority. 



26 ISLE OF PINES. 

POPULATION, ETC. 

The island contains but two towns, New Gerona on the north coast, 
and Santa Fe in the center, the former numbering some 300 inhabitants 
and the latter 150. The population of the island can be set down at 
about 2,000. 

New Gerona is the capital of the island, and, in fact, the only town, 
as Santa Fe, 15 miles distant, is official^ a suburb. In this connec- 
tion it would appear to be very much to the advantage of the towns 
(and the island) if they were officially independent. Santa Fe, with a 
port at Jucaro, only 7 miles away, would then become a rival of New 
Gerona, and both places would be stimulated to commercial and 
municipal competition. 

New Gerona is advantageously situated on a picturesque plateau at 
the base of the Casas Mountains and some 30 feet above the level of 
the sea and of the swamps at the mouth of the river. The site is well 
drained, exposed to the constant breezes, and seems to promise reason- 
able freedom from the malarial influences. Its water comes from a 
magnesian spring, said to be very beneficial in cases of stomach trouble, 
and baths have been built, into which water from the same spring is 
conducted. 

Just outside of the town, on an open plateau, are the barracks, a 
large stone building with interior courts, capable of accommodating 
comfortably 200 American troops and of affording shelter if necessary 
to double that number. 

There is a wharf at the town, at which the steamer Protector, from 
Batabano, lands once a week. The articles exported are charcoal, 
tobacco poles, roofing poles, railway ties, and tobacco. 

There is no hotel; invalids do not usually stop here, but go on at 
once to Santa Fe, in the center of the island, 15 miles over an excellent 
natural road. 

Santa Fe, 150 inhabitants, 2 hotels (Caballos and Santa Fe), thermal 
baths of about blood temperature — medicinal springs, magnesium and 
iron, very favorably known by people of Habana, many of whom come 
here in summer. The Spanish Government had an official surgeon 
here, who collected a consultation fee of $3.75 in gold from each person 
who desired to take the baths, the patient afterwards paying 20 cents 
for each bath. 

The imposition of forced medical consultation before taking a tepid 
bath should not continue. 

The port of Santa Fe is Jucaro, on the Santa Fe River, 7 miles by 
good road. Steamer touches once a week. The only wheeled vehicles 
are the ancient volante and the ox cart. 

SCHOOLS. 

None in operation now. Schoolmasters were ignorant and incom- 
petent. The revenues having ceased, all government functions are at a 
standstill. 

The taxes formerly collected here by the Bank of Spain went to 
Habana, whence one-fourth was afterwards remitted. 

The only dues collectable directly by the authorities in the island 
were the dues for slaughtering cattle and selling beef. These would 
now be nil, as there are practically no cattle in the island. 



ISLE OF PINES. 27 

The civil expenses of the government formerly amounted to about 
$7,000 per annum, of which $4,000 came from the Bank of Spain and 
$3,000 were collected directly on beef, or indirectly, as explained 
before, by export dues of li cents on each sack of charcoal, and 7 cents 
on each cord of wood. 

MINERAL. 

The only mineral product of importance is the marble, which is 
found in the two mountains east and west of New Gerona, on the north 
coast. This marble was worked extensively some thirty years ago. 
The ruins of a steam plant for sawing and polishing the slabs show 
that much money was put into the enterprise. It is said that, for rea- 
sons of its own, the Government looked with disfavor on the enter- 
prise, and to discourage it levied a duty upon the sand used in sawing, 
which was hauled from the shore, a mile from the quarry. This impo- 
sition killed the enterprise. About twelve years ago a few cargoes 
of marble blocks were gotten out and shipped to Habana, to be sawed 
up and worked there. Since then nothing has been done. 

The marble seems to be of good quality, ranging from a good white 
statuaiy, through various shades of blue-veined stone, to marble of a 
dark gray; also specimens with pinkish coloring. There are in the 
island no samples of very brilliant polish, but, judging from the crys- 
tallization of some of the blocks, good results should be obtainable with 
proper methods. 

The old working has done little but step the surface of a cliff of 
weatherworn rock. The amount of material in sight is unlimited. 
The old works have a most advantageous location, where a short haul 
over a good road leads to an old pier. 

A good quality of brick clay is found in the island, and at New 
Gerona are the ruins of an extensive brickyard, whence bricks, floor- 
ing titles, and roofing tiles were formerly shipped to Habana. 

LUMBER. 

There are at present two small steam sawmills in the island, one in 
actual running order. There is a large area of pine forests, but the 
logs large enough for sawing are found only in small stretches west of 
the center of the island. The small pines, furnished for exportation 
railway ties, telegraph poles, poles for the roofs of native Cuban huts, 
and for hanging tobacco during the curing process. 

There are no statistics available from which the amount and the 
quality of the hard woods on the southern island can be estimated. 

There appears to have been no very regular trade, and I believe 
that, while much fine wood will be found there, it will not be found of 
sufficient size and in sufficient quantity to warrant the expense of get- 
ting it to the water over the difficult rocky ground in which it grows. 
The most accessible localities have already been culled, and it is said 
that to take out the best timber portable railways will have to be used. 

LIVE STOCK. 

Horses. — The horses of the island are very small and poor, but are-~____ 
hardy and travel with a comfortable and rapid ambling gait. The 
pasturage is not such as to favor growth, and the stock brought here 
during the war is being rapidly exported to Cuba. 



28 ISLE OF PINES. 

Cattle.- — Have almost disappeared from the island. Beef is a luxury 
not usually obtainable, even in the towns of New Gerona and Santa 
Fe. A rumor that the Spanish Government was to seize all the cattle 
caused a hurried sale, and the purchasers immediately shipped the ani- 
mals to Habana. 

Pigs. — The island is a paradise for this animal, as the vast variety of 
wild fruits and seeds furnish him abundant food. 

Parrots. — Are found in large numbers and are exported yearly. 

Fish. — The shallow waters about the island abound in fish and lob- 
sters of excellent quality. 

AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES. 

Of the land lying north of the cienaga, the swamp and low ground, 
covered with mangroves, is estimated at 25 per cent; the savannahs, 
covered with these mangroves and scrub palmetto, at 25 per cent; land 
of doubtful agricultural value, 10 per cent; rich land, 10 per cent; 
mountains and steep hills, 5 per cent; pine lands unsuitable for agri- 
culture, 25 per cent. 

Of the land denominated rich, a very small percentage is actually 
under cultivation, but the nature of the growth upon it shows the 
value of the soil. Of the entire surface of the island, but 1 per cent is 
now under cultivation. 

As an example of the wonderful variety of product, a finca or farm 
of less than 33 acres actual cultivation produces coffee, sugar, choco- 
late (cocoa), cocoanuts, plantains, bananas, bonatos (sweet potatoes), 
yucca (cassava — furnishing laundry starch), malangoes (answering for 
potatoes), rice, beans, lettuce, tobacco, honey, fowls, pigs, and cattle. 

The rich arable land of the island is not found in large tracts, but 
in scattered patches among the hills — suitable for tobacco patches rather 
than for sugar plantations. 

The demand for consumption in the island is small, and the freight 
rates to the mainland high, hence the only agricultural product that 
finds a ready market and commands cash is tobacco. 

Of this staple the island exported last year about 5,000 bales of 100 
pounds each. The amount this year will fall to 2,000 bales or less for 
the reason that the workers who had come here from Vuelta Abajo 
to escape the war have now returned to their old homes, where the 
reputation of the leaf, if not its actual superiority, gives the laborer 
who cultivates on shares a larger return for his work. Tobacco from 
this island sells in Habana at $40 per bale. A cigar factory in the 
island would insure the recognition of the product under its own name, 
and, it is believed, would stimulate the growth of the staple to the 
benefit of the island. Tobacco growers assert that the only difficulty 
here arises from the newness of the soil; it has not been sufficiently 
worked and mixed to insure a uniform crop, some plants growing rank 
and others poorly. 

Sugar. — The cane at present raised in the island is for home use only. 
The juice is extracted by a crude wooden mill and boiled down in a 
large open kettle, making a dark, coarse sugar unfit for export. 

A sugar plantation here could not compete with those in the rich 
level lands of Habana Province, as the soil, except in small tracts, 
would be soon exhausted by the cane. 

Coffee. — Has so far been raised only experimentally, but the quality 



ISLE OF PINES. 29 

seems to be fair, and with cultivators who understand the work good 
results might be obtained. 

Cacao {chocolate). — Raised only experimentally, but the fruit appears 
to be fine. 

Rice. — Grows well without irrigation. 

Yucca {for starch). — Grows well without irrigation, and yields well. 

Maanga {answering as potato). — Grows well without irrigation and 
yields well; fine quality. 

The bonato, or sweet potato, has borne a particularly fine flavor, 
and, with reduced rates to Cuba, should become a marketable product. 

Plantain. — Have a sweeter flavor than those of Cuba and produce 
abundantly. They are now shipped to Cuba in small quantities and 
should become an important article of export. 

Oranges. — These have a reputation for sweetness, and the island 
seems particularly suited to their growth. No attention seems to have 
been paid to the kind of trees planted, and it is believed that there is 
an opening here for orange growers of experience who would plant 
the most approved varieties of stock. 

Guayava. — This fruit grows wild over a large part of the island and 
furnishes fruit for pigs. It might be utilized in the manufacture of 
the guayava paste and jelly. 

Cocoanuts. — Yield abundant^, though few trees have been planted. 
This could easily become an article of export. 

To resume, the island is not adapted to cattle raising, except for 
home consumption. 

The amount of fine timber fit for the saw is not large. 

The area of cane land is insignificant. 

High freights and distance to market make garden produce valueless 
except for home consumption. 

As far as it is possible to learn without visiting the south coast, the 
amount and quality of mahogany is not sufficient to attract buyers 
from more promising fields. 

The tobacco culture is capable of great development. 

The marble is well worth examination of men of experience and 
capital. 

The exploitation of the island as a sanitary resort is, however, the 
enterprise which seems to promise the greatest returns to the capital- 
ist as well as the greatest benefit to the island itself. 

The mineral springs, thermal baths, and healthy climate have already 
an established reputation. 

With sufficient capital to establish a large hotel and run a swift 
steamer of light draft to Batabano, the island can be brought within 
eight hours or less of Habana, and the traveler runs no risk of sea 
sickness in the shallow sea inclosed by quays. 

A daily steamer service would make the place attractive to business 
men of Habana and give a sale and outlet to many products not 
otherwise marketable. 

Very respectfully, 

Fred S. Foltz, 
Captain, Secotid Cavalry, Collector of Customs, Batabano. 



30 ISLE OF PINES. 

Statement given to the press from the Bureau of Insular Affairs. 

Assistant Secretary of War Meiklejohn has made public a military 
reconnoissance of the northern portion of the Isle of Pines. Very 
little has hitherto been published about this island. The southern 
portion of the island is only accessible by sea and will be visited later 
on by a representative of the War Department. 

The report states, however, that the southern portion of the island 
contains considerable mahogany and other valuable hard wood. In 
regard to the topography of the section visited, it was disclosed that 
the surface is a plateau, with an elevation of some 50 to 100 feet above 
the sea, broken by ridges of hills or cliffs that project abruptly here 
and there above the general level surface. The soil, generally speak- 
ing, is of firm sand mixed with some clay and gravel, all of which 
makes good roads, even in rainy weather, by merely cleaning away 
the brush. 

The two mountain ridges at the northern end of the island have an 
elevation of some fifteen hundred feet. These ridges are composed of 
limestone and marble. The other ridges, in the center of the island, 
are much lower, less precipitous, and are formed of gray sandstone 
and red rock and gravel containing iron. The southern part of the 
island is composed of what is locally known as ' ' dog-tooth " coral rock. 
The southern coast is rocky and dangerous, containing only one small 
harbor — Carapachiray. On the southwest of the island is a capacious 
anchorage, the Ciguanea, and from this anchorage vessels drawing 20 
feet can pass northward around the island as far as New Gerona, inside 
the keys that lie some 6 miles off the coast. The whole island, with 
the exception of the rocky southern coast, is surrounded by mangrove 
swamps, with here and there a short stretch of sandy beach. The only 
two landings on the island are New Gerona, on the Rio Las Casas, and 
Jucaro, the latter on the Rio Santa Fe. These are accessible by ves- 
sels drawing 5 feet of water or less, the bars at the river mouths 
being very shallow. 

The central part bears yellow pine, mostly too small for lum ber, 
although there are considerable tracts of very fair saw logs. As you 
approach the western, northern, and eastern coasts the pine disappears 
and the country becomes a savanna covered with a thin grass and 
dotted with scrubby trees and palmetto. In general appearance this 
section resembles the bare parts of Florida. 

A careful investigation discloses that the only land belonging to the 
state is contained in some 63 lots of about 50 acres each, and scat 
tered about within 3 miles of New Gerona. These lots seem to be 
those left after the land had been picked over. They are generally 
in the worst locations, practically worthless, and contain nothing but 
mangrove scrubs, dwarf palmettos, and thin pine grass. A few of 
the lots are better and are used as small farms, the resident paying, it 
is understood, a nominal rent to the hacienda at Habana. However, 
there are no records on this point in the island. The quantity of 
mangrove and other scrubby wood available for charcoal and soft 
wood is practically unlimited. All the coast of the island and the 
keys to the north are covered with this growth of mangrove and other 
scrubby wood. 

Since the 1st of January last taxes have not been paid. The alcalde 
of the island, as well as the former military governor, did not feel 



ISLE OF PINES. 31 

himself sufficiently secure to enforce payment, or found it to his mate- 
rial interest to allow things to run themselves. As a consequence 
the bridges are in need of repairs, the schools closed, and the clerks 
living from hand to mouth without any remuneration. 

The island contains but two towns — New Gerona on the north coastand 
Santa Fe in the center. The former numbers some 300 inhabitants; 
the latter 150 persons. The entire population of the island is about 
2,000. The capital of the island is New Gerona. In fact it is the only 
town, and Santa Fe, 15 miles distant, is officially a suburb. The recom- 
mendation is made that the towns be made officially separate of each 
other, as Santa Fe possesses a port at Jucaro, 7 miles distant. Such 
a course, it is believed, would stimulate the commercial and municipal 
activity of the towns. 

New Gerona is described as advantageously situated on a pictur- 
esque plateau at the base of the Casas Mountains and is some 30 feet 
above the level of the sea as well as of the swamps at the mouth of the 
river. The site is well drained, exposed to constant breezes, and 
seems to promise reasonable freedom from malarial influences. The 
water of the town comes from a magnesium spring-, said to be very 
beneficial in cases of stomach trouble. Baths have been built, into 
which water from the spring is conducted. Just outside of the town 
limits on an open plateau are the barracks. They are a large stone 
building, with interior courts, capable of accommodating comfortably 
200 American troops, and if necessary affording shelter to twice that 
many. New Gerona possesses also a wharf at which the steamer Pro- 
tector from Batabano lands once a week. The articles exported are 
charcoal, tobacco poles, roofing poles, railway ties, and tobacco. New 
Gerona has no hotel. Invalids do not usualty stop at this point, but 
proceed at once to Santa Fe, in the center of the island, 15 miles distant, 
over an excellent natural road. y— 

Santa Fe has two hotels, the Caballo and Santa Fe. The town also 
contains thermal baths of about blood temperature. The medicinal 
springs contain magnesium and iron, all of which are very favorably 
known to the people of Habana, many of whom visit them in sum- 
mer. The Spanish Government formerly had an official surgeon at 
this point, who, until recently, collected consultation fees of §3.75 in 
gold from each person who desired to take the baths, the patient sub- 
sequently paying 20 cents for each bath. Jucaro, the port of Santa 
Fe, is on the Santa Fe River. Steamers touch once a week. Tho^**^' 
only wheel vehicles are the ancient volante and the ox cart. No 
schools were in operation when the island was visited. The revenues 
having ceased, all government functions at the date of the visit were 
at a standstill. The only dues collectible directly by the authorities 
in the island were the dues for slaughtering cattle and selling beef. 
Even these taxes no longer exist, as there are practically no cattle in 
the island. The civil expenses of the government formerly amounted 
to only about $7,000 per annum, of which $1,000 came from the Bank 
of Spain and $3,000 were collected directly on beef, or, rather, indi- 
rectly by export dues of 1£ cents on each sack of charcoal and 7 cents 
on a cord of wood. 

The only mineral product of importance in the island is the marble. 
This marble is found in the mountains east and west of New Gerona 
on the north coast. Some fifty years ago these marble quarries were 
worked extensively, and there are many evidences that much money 



32 ISLE OF PIKES. 

was put into the enterprise. For some reason or other it is said that 
the Spanish Government looked with disfavor upon the enterprise, and 
in order to discourage it levied a duty on the sand used in sawing, 
which was hauled from the shore a mile from the quarry. This tax 
killed the enterprise. About twelve years ago a few cargoes of mar- 
ble blocks were gotten out and shipped to Habana to be sawed out and 
worked there. Since then this particular industry has been neglected. 
The marble appears to be of good quality, some of it being white stat- 
uary marble, while other specimens contain various shades of blue 
grained stone, as well as marble of a dark-gray color. There are also 
specimens containing a pinkish coloring. None of these samples are 
capable of a very brilliant polish. With modern methods good results 
might be obtained. The work already done in these quarries has only 
disturbed the outer surface of the rock. It is believed that better 
material than has already been disclosed may be found deeper in the 
mountain. The old works have a most advantageous location, as the 
haul from the quarry to the old pier is over a good road. A good 
quality of brick clay is also found in the island, and the ruins of an 
extensive brickyard, from which bricks and flooring and roofing tiles 
were formerly shipped to Habana, still exist at New Gerona. 

The tobacco grown in this region sells at Habana at $40 per bale. 
It is believed that it passes later as Vuelta Abajo at a higher price. 
Were a cigar factory established in the island it is believed taat it 
would insure the recognition of the product under its own name, and 
that this would stimulate the growth of the staple and bring a corre- 
sponding benefit to the island. 

Tobacco growers are of the opinion that the only difficulty thus far 
presented in growing the weed arises from the newness of the soil. 
The latter has not been sufficiently worked and mixed to insure a 
uniform crop. 

The sugar cane at present raised in the island is for home use only. 
The juice is extracted by a crude wooden mill and boiled down in a 
large open kettle, making a dark, coarse sugar, unfit for export. A 
sugar plantation here would not probably be able to compete with 
those in the rich level lands of Habana Province, as the soil is not as 
strong as it is in the region named. Coffee has only been raised in an 
experimental sense. The quality seems to be fair, and it is thought 
that if cultivators, who understand the work, should commence opera- 
tions in an attempt to raise the berry, good results might be obtained. 

Cacao (chocolate) is also used and only experimentally grown, but 
the fruit appears to be fine. Rice grows well without irrigation. 
Yuca, which is commonly used for starch, also grows well without 
irrigation and usually yields well. Malango, which is a species of 
potato, grows well without irrigation, yields well and is of fine quality. 

The sweet potato grown in the island possesses a particularly fine 
flavor, and with reduced rates to Cuba would become a marketable 
product. 

The plantain has a sweeter flavor than that grown in Cuba and pro- 
duces abundantly. It is shipped to Cuba in small quantities and in 
time will become an important article of export. 

No attention seems to have been paid to the kind of trees planted 
and it is believed that there is an opening on the island for orange 
growers of experience who would plant trees of the most approved 
varieties. Guava grows wild over a large part of the island and fur- 



ISLE OF PH5TES. 33 

nishes fruit for pigs. It could be utilized in the manufacture of guava 
paste and jelly. The cocoanut trees of the island yield abundantly. 
Few trees have been planted, however. This fruit could also easily 
become an article of export. 

It is thought that cattle raising could not be made a paying project 
except for home consumption. 

There are at present two small sawmills in the island, but only one is 
now in actual running order. There is a large area of pine forest, but 
the logs large enough for sawing are found only in small stretches west 
of the center of the island. These small pines are principal^ exported 
to be used as railwaj^ ties, telegraph poles, poles for the roofs of native 
Cuban huts, and for hanging tobacco during its curing. There seems 
to be no available statistics from which the amount and quality of the 
hard wood in the southern part of the island can be estimated. 

It is the opinion of the military official who makes the report that, 
while much tine wood might be found in the southern portion of the 
island, it would not be found of sufficient size and in sufficient quantity 
to warrant the expense of getting it to the water over the difficult, 
rocky ground in which it grows. The most accessible localities have 
already been culled, and it is feared that to take out the best timber 
portable railways would have to be used. 

The horses of the island are very small and generally very poor. 
They are hardy and travel with a comfortable and rapid ambling gait. 
The pasturage is not such as to favor growth, and the stock brought 
to the island during the war is being rapidly exported to Cuba. Cat- 
tle have almost disappeared from the island. In a week's riding not 
a hundred head were seen. Beef is such a luxury that it is not usu- 
ally obtainable even in the towns of New Grerona and Santa Fe. It 
being rumored that the Spanish Government was to seize all the cattle, 
the owners hurriedly sold them and the purchasers immediately 
shipped the animals to Habana. The island is a paradise for pigs. 
The best variety of wild fruits and seeds furnish them abundant food. 
Parrots are found in large numbers and yearly exported. The shal- 
low waters about the island abound in an excellent quality of fish and 
lobsters. 

The agricultural resources of the island are as follows: Rich land, 
10 per cent; land of doubtful agricultural value, 10 percent; savannas, 
covered with mangroves and palmettoes, 25 per cent; swamp and low 
ground, covered with mangroves, 25 per cent; mountains and steep 
hills, 25 per cent. The land thus named lies north of the Cienega. 
Of the land denominated rich, only a very small percentage is actually 
under cultivation, but the nature of its growth shows the value of the 
soil. Of the entire surface of the island but 1 per cent is now under 
cultivation. As an example of the wonderful variety of products of 
the island, it is mentioned in particular that one farm of less than 
thirty -three acres actually in cultivation produces coffee, sugar, choco- 
late, cocoa, cocoanuts, plantains, bananas, sweet potatoes, cassava (from 
which laundry starch may be made), malangoes which answer for pota- 
toes, rice beans, lettuce, tobacco, honey, fowls, pigs, and cattle. 

The rich, arable land of the island is not found in large tracts, but 
in scattered patches among the hills, which are suitable for tobacco 
patches rather than sugar plantations. The demand for consumption 
in the island is small and the freight rates to the mainland high. 
Hence the only agricultural product that commands a ready cash mar- 

S. Doc. 205, 59-1 3 



34 ISLE OP PINES. 

ket is tobacco. Of this staple the island exported last year about 
3,000 bales of 100 pounds each. This year the amount will fall to 
2,000 bales or less, for the reason that the workers who had come to 
this island from Vuelta Abajo came to escape the war. They have 
now returned to their old homes, where the reputation on the leaf, if 
not its actual superiority, gives the laborer who cultivates it a larger 
return for his work. 

To sum up, in brief, the material resources of the island are as 
follows: 

Fine timber for the saw is not large. The area of cane land is insig- 
nificant. High freights and distance to market make agricultural 
produce valueless except for home consumption. The amount and 
quality of mahogany is not sufficient to attract buyers from more prom- 
ising fields. This, of course, appertains to the northern part of the 
island. Tobacco culture is capable of great development. Men of 
capital and experience will do well, the official states, to inspect the 
marble quarries. The greatest returns to the capitalist, as well as the 
greatest benefit to the island itself at present, seem to lie in its future 
as a sanitaiy resort. The island can be brought within eight hours or 
less of Habana, and the traveler runs no risk of seasickness in the 
shallow sea inclosed by keys. A close connection can be made with 
Habana, provided sufficient capital is invested, by establishing a swift 
steamer of light draft to Batabano. 



Aurora, III. , February &£, 1899. 
Friend A. J. H. 

Dear Sir: I suppose you are very busy and perhaps too busy to 
think about or to get time to see about making for me a possible trans- 
fer to Pension Department at Washington, as we have formerly 
talked. Before you leave for Aurora it maybe you can ascertain 
possibilities in this line or see a chance for something preferable for me. 

Any effort in my behalf will place me under increased obligations 
to you for past favors. 

Very truly, yours, E. H. Gale. 

P. S. — Pension board here fails to get many examinations from 
Chicago. 

My attention has been called to Isle of Pines, ceded to us by the 
Spanish treaty. Is there &ny literature obtainable descriptive of this 
inhabited island just south of Cuba? 

G. 



Department of State, 

Washington, March 3, 1899. 

Hon. A. J. Hopkins, 

House of Representatives. 

Dear Sir: Your letter of the 27th ultimo inclosing one from Dr. 
E. H. Gale, of Aurora, 111., requesting any information or publication 
this Department may have in regard to the Isle of Pines, has been 
received. 

In reply I beg to say that this Department has no publications on the 
subject. I believe, however, that upon application at the War Depart- 



ISLE OF PINES. 35 

ment you may be able to find some publications of that Department 
referring to the Isle of Pines. 

I am, very truly, yours, Thos. W. Cridler. 



Committee on Census, House of Representatives, 

Washington, D. C, March J,, 1889. 
Hon. R. A. Alger, 

Secretary of War, Washington, D. O. 
Dear Sir: The inclosed correspondence explains itself. If you can 
send Doctor Gale any information concerning the Isle of Pines, I shall 
be glad if you will do so. 

Truly, yours, A. J. Hopkins. 



War Department, 
Office of the Assistant Secretary, 

Washington, D. C, March 9, 1899. 
Sir: At the request of Hon. A. J. Hopkins, I have the honor to here- 
with transmit to you a copy of the report of Capt. Frank S. Foltz con- 
cerning the Isle of Pines. 

very respectfully, G. D. Meiklejohn, 

Assistant Secretary of War. 
Dr. E. H. Gale, Aurora, 111. 



War Department, 
Office of the Assistant Secretary, 

Washington, D. C, March 9, 1899. 
Sir: In reply to your favor of the 4th instant, requesting that 
information be furnished to Doctor Gale concerning the Isle of Pines, I 
have the honor to state that a copy of the report of Capt. Frank S. 
Foltz has been this day mailed to him. 

Very respectfully, G. D. Meiklejohn, 

Assistant Secretary of War. 
Hon. A. J. Hopkins, 

House of Representatives. 



Fort Reno, Okla., March 19, 1899. 
Bureau of the American Republics, Washington, D. C. 

Sir: I would like a pamphlet, book, or descriptive article of the Isle 
of Pines, the new territory recently acquired by the United States. 
Can you furnish me with literature of any kind describing that country ? 
Thanking j^ou for a reply, I am, 

Very respectfully, Wm. Sigismund, Jr. 

Refer to Assistant Secretary of War and so inform writer. 

Bureau of the American Republics,! 
International Union of American Republics, 

Washington, IT. S. A. 
Respectfully referred to the Assistant Secretary of War; the writer 
having been so informed. 

William C. Fox. 



36 ISLE OF PINES. 

Chicago, III., March 23, 1899. 
Deae Sir: I am seeking information on the Isle of Pines in view of 
going there. 

Will you kindty furnish me whatever matter is in possession of our 
Government as to land and ownership, etc. % 
Let me hear from you at your earliest convenience. 
Most respectfully, 

A. A. Burleigh, 
2786 Hermitage Avenue, Station X. 



War Department, 

Washington, March 25, 1899. 
Sir: In reply to your letter of the 23d instant, asking for informa- 
tion relative to the Isle of Pines, I have the honor to state that an 
extended description thereof was given to the press on the 15th instant. 
Very respectfully, 

G. D. Meiklejohn, 

Acting Secretary of War. 
A. A. Burleigh, Esq., 

2786 Hermitage Avenue, Station X, Chicago, III. 



War Department, 

Washington, March 25, 1899. 
Sir: In reply to your letter of the 19th instant, asking for informa- 
tion relative to the Isle of Pines, I have the honor to state that an, 
extended description thereof was given to the press on the 15th 
instant. 

Very respectfully, G. D. Meiklejohn, 

Acting Secretary of War. 
Mr. William Sigismund, Jr., 

Fort Reno, Ohla. 



Fitchburg, Mass. , March 25, 1899. 
Bureau of South American Republics: 

Gentlemen: I am in want of information regarding a place called 
the Isle of Pines, off the coast of Cuba. What position does it now 
occupy in relation to our United States Government, and what posi- 
tion is it likely to assume % The information wanted is such as a per- 
son would have to have who was trying to start a colon} 7 : Number and 
character of the inhabitants, religion and politics, what a Yankee can 
do there to make a living, character of soil, water, rainfall, tempera- 
ture, and such other information as you can give. If you can not fur- 
nish me with this, if possible tell me where it can be obtained. 
Yours, truly, 

W. W T . Newcomb. 

Bureau of American Republics, 
International Union of American Republics, 

Washington, U. S. A., March 27, 1899. 
Respectfully referred to the chief clerk of the War Department for 
his information. 

William C. Fox, Chief Clerk. 



ISLE OF PINES. 



37 



War Department, 
Washington, March 29, 1899. 
Sip: In reply to your letter of the 25th instant, relating- to the 
Island of Pines, I have the honor to state that an extended* description 
of same was given to the press on the 15th instant. 
Very respectfully, 

G. D. Meiklejohn, 

Acting Secretary of War. 
W. W. Newcomb, Esq. , 

160 Main Street, Fitchburg, Mass. 



Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, 

Williams Bay, Wis. , March *27, 1899. 
My Dear Sir: Please let me have full instructions in regard to 
applying for public lands in the Isle of Pines, recently acquired from 
Spain. 

Very truly, E. N. Myers, Williams Bay, Wis. 

Department of the Interior, 

Office of the Secretary, 

March SO, 1899. 
Respectfully forwarded to the honorable Secretary of War, and the 
writer so advised. 

Thos. Ryan, Acting Secretary. 



War Department, 

Washington, I). C, April 3, 1899. 
Sir: In reply to your letter of the 27th ultimo, relative to govern- 
ment land in the Isle of Pines, I have the honor to state that no such 
land has as yet been opened to settlement. 
Very respectfully, 

G. D. Meiklejohn, 

Acting Secretary of War. 

E. N. Myers, Esq. , Williams Bay, Wis. 



Fitzgerald, Ga., April 4, 1899. 
Secretary of War, 

Washington, D. C. 
Sir: Have you any reports or public documents for distribution 
treating on the Isle of Pines? 

If you have, I should be pleased to receive them. 
I remain, very truly, yours, 

• D. E. Peiper. 



38 isle of pines. 

War Department, 
Office of the Assistant Secretary, 

Washington, D. C, April 10, 1899. 
Sir: In reply to your letter of the 4th instant in which } r ou request 
a copy of a report or some public documents giving information upon 
the Isle of Pines, I have the honor to inclose to you a copy of a report 
recently received by this Department. 

Very respectfully, G. D. Meiklejohn, 

Acting Secretary of War. 
Mr. D. E. Peiper, Fitzgerald, Ga. 



El Reno, Okla., April 12, 1899. 
War Department, Washington: 

I am desirous of obtaining information regarding Isle of Pines, and, 
as I understand, the War Department has issued a printed report on 
same, 1 ask that you please send me same, or advise me as to how to 
secure one. By so doing you will greatly oblige, 
Yours, most respectfully, 

P. W. Odom, Box 279, El Reno, Okla. 



War Department, 
Office of the Assistant Secretary, 

Washington, D. C, April 17, 1899. 
Sir: In reply to your letter of the 12th instant, requesting informar 
tion in regard to the Isle of Pines, 1 am directed by the Assistant 
Secretary of War to herewith transmit to you a copy of the latest 
report thereon. 

Very respectfully, John C Scofield, 

Chief Clerk. 
P. W. Odom, Esq., El Reno, Okla. 



Chicago Colony, Isle of Pines, West Indies, 

Chicago, 111., April 20, 1899. 
John C. Scofield, Esq., 

Chief Clerk War Department, Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: Your kind favor of March 17 received, with inclosure — 
report by Captain Foltz on the Isle of Pines to the War Department, of 
recent date. The report is of great value to us and was read with consid- 
erable interest, and a resolution of thanks was passed by the association 
to Hon. Assistant Secretary of War Meiklejohn for kindly furnishing 
us a copy of the report. Any official information in reference to the 
island you can give us will be highly appreciated. What interests us 
the most now is, Will the island belong to the United States, and does 
the treaty of peace between the United States and Spain so imply ? 
We are going on the principle that it does. 

1 have the honor to be, yours, very truly, 

G. W. Reed, Vice-President. 



ISLE OP PINES. 39 

Philadelphia, June 16, 1899. 
Hon. John Hay, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: I am desirous of obtaining* information relative to the 
Isle of Pines, located south of the western end of Cuba, viz, as to its 
form of government, if it is owned by or subject to the control of the 
United States, its population, industries, and what investments or con- 
cessions there would probably be productive of the best financial 
results. 

Very respectfully, Walter S. Chambers. 

Above letter forwarded to the Secretary of War. 

Mailed copy of Isle of Pines report, June 20, 1899. 

C. 



Department of State, 

Washington, August 8, 1899. 
The Secretary of War. 

Sir: The Department is in receipt of a letter from John B. Altman, 
4246 Shaw avenue, St. Louis, Mo., dated July 23, 1899, from which 1 
extract the following: 

I take the liberty to ask you under which office the Isle of Pines stands; I mean to 
whom I have to apply for land in there and how the land can be obtained. As we 
are in a party of ten families we want to settle in there on the mountainous part of 
the Isle des Pines, but we have not the informations what and how to do to get land 
there; this is the reason I come with this request and wish to have advice. 

If we have to buy the land, then we want to know the legal way to do it; other- 
wise we may lease the land to settle in there. 

Mr. Altman's letter contains other matters that relate to this Depart 
ment, for which reason it can not be referred to you in original, but 
he has been told that this reference has been made to your Department 
and that he should correspond directly with you on that point. 
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

Thos. W. Credler, 
Third Assistant Secretary. 



War Department, 

Washington, August H, 1899. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a letter from 
the Assistant Secretary of State, containing an extract from your let- 
ter addressed to him, requesting certain information concerning public 
land in the Isle of Pines. 

In reply I am directed by the Assistant Secretary of War to advise 
you that the disposition of public lands in the islands must await the 
action of Congress, and to inclose for your information a copy of an 
official report received by this Department on the resources of the 
island. 

Very respectfully, John J. Pershing, 

Assistant Adjutant- General. 
Mr. John B. Altman, 

4^4-6 Shato avenue, St. Louis, Mo 



'40 ISLE OF PINES. 

Carlisle, Pa. , August 10, 1899. 
War Department, Washington, D. G. 

Gentlemen: I am seeking information about the timber interests 
in the Isle of Pines and would be obliged for any information you 
may be able to give me, especially what will be the governmental 
status of the isle? Does it come in as Porto Rico, or under the same 
conditions as Cuba? And how can title be secured, etc. ? I expect to 
go in November. 

For which information I will say thanks in advance. 
Yours, 

Geo. Bridges. 
I expect to operate sawmills. Am no land grabber. 



War Department, 
Washington, August lip, 1899. 
Sir: Referring to your communication of the 10th instant, soliciting 
information respecting the Isle of Pines, I am directed by the Assist- 
ant Secretary of War to advise you that this island was ceded by Spain 
to the United States and is therefore a part of our territory, although 
it is attached at present to the division of Cuba for governmental pur- 
poses. 

A copy of an official report on the Isle of Pines is inclosed for your 
information, and you are advised that the disposition of public lands 
must await the action of Congress. 

Very respectfully, John J. Pershing, 



Mr. George Bridges, 

Carlisle, Pa. 



Assistant Adjutant- General. 



Tubbsville, Ohio, June 21, 1899. 
Gentlemen: Please send me a copy of the latest official report on 
the Isle of Pines by Colonel Hecker or Captain Folty, or any other 
officer, if the same is in print, and let me know where one can get a 
map of the island, and oblige, 

Yours truly,. A. S. Tttbbs. 

Department of the Interior, June 26, 1899. 
Respectfully forwarded to the honorable the Secretary of War, and 
writer so informed. 

E. A. Hitchcock, Secretary. 



Detroit, Mich. , September 6, 1899. 
Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir: Have jo\x on file for public use any recently procured 
matter on the Isle of Pines, Cuba? We should particularly like to 
know what standing timber there is there, also the minerals to be found. 
Any courtesies extended will be appreciated. 

>? erY truly yours, West & Co. 



isle of pines. 41 

War Department, 

Washington, September 9, 1899. 
Gentlemen: In reply to your letter of the 6th instant, asking for 
information concerning the Isle of Pines, I am directed by the Secre- 
tary of War to inclose herewith copy of a report in regard to the same. 
Very respectfully, 

A. N. Thompson, 
Acting Chief Cleric. 
West & Co., 

Union Trust .Building, Detroit, Mich. 



Dealer in lumber and box material. 

Galveston, Tex., December W, 1899. 
The Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Washington. 

Sir: Permit me to inquire if the islands south of Cuba, formerly 
belonging to Spain, do now belong to the United States or to Cuba; and 
if so, have I a right to hunt along those islands in a small American 
boat? Am contemplating to make a trip there and would like to know 
what I would have to do not to conflict with the law. Should want to 
carry probably 100 pounds of powder and shot and two or three arms 
with provisions for two months for two men. 

Would also thank you for the name and publisher of any publication 
describing those islands if such is to be had. Presume some are 
inhabited and others not? 

Thanking you for the anticipated favor, I beg to remain, 
Very respectfully, 

L. C. Letts. 

Boat would be too small to enter at custom-house. 

Department of State, December 28, 1899. 
Respectfully referred to the chief clerk War Department. 

Wm. H. Michael, Chief Clerk. 



War Department, 
Office of the Assistant Secretary, 

Washington, D. C. , Jamuary 13, 1900. 

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt, by reference 
from the honorable the Secretary of State, of your letter of the 20th 
ultimo asking if the islands south of Cuba, formerly belonging to 
Spain, now belong to the United States or to Cuba; whether you have 
a right to hunt along the coasts thereof in a boat too small to enter at 
the custom-house, carrying probably 100 pounds of ammunition, two 
or three guns, and two months' provisions for two men, and request- 
ing publications descriptive of said islands. 

In reply, you are advised that the Isle of Pines was ceded by Spain 
to the United States, and therefore is a part of our territory, although 
it is attached at present to the division of Cuba for governmental 
purposes. 



42 ISLE OF PINES. 

In reply to your inquiry relative to guns and ammunition, your 
attention is invited to the inclosed copy of an order of the military 
governor of Cuba, dated September 18, 1899, modifying the instruc- 
tions dated April 27, 1899. You are further informed that the Depart- 
ment has no publications descriptive of these islands. 
Very respectfully, 

G. D. Meiklejohn, 
Assistant Secretary of War. 
Mr. L. C. Leith, 

NW. Corner Market and Eighteenth Streets, Galveston, Tex. 



January 6, 1900. 
Hon. Wm. McKinlet, 

Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: Does the Isle of Pines belong to the United States, or is 
it Cuban territory? Is it subject to homestead of American citizens? 
An early reply will oblige 

A. C. Goff, 
Bluff Spri?igs, Escambia County, Fla. 



War Department, 
Office of the Assistant Secretary, 

Washington, D. C, January 15, 1900. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt, by reference from 
the President, of your letter of the 6th instant, asking if the Isle of 
Pines belongs to the United States and whether it is subject to the 
homestead laws of this country. 

In reply I beg to advise you that the Isle of Pines was ceded to the 
United States by Spain, and is therefore a part of our territory, 
although it is at present attached to the division of Cuba for govern- 
mental purposes. The homestead laws of the United States have not 
as yet been applied thereto and this question mast await Congressional 
action. 

Very respectfully, G. D. Meiklejohn, 

Assistant Secretary of War. 
Mr. A. C. Goff, 

Bluff Springs, Escambia County, Fla. 



War Department, 
Office of the Assistant Secretary, 

Washington, D. C, April 28, 1900. 
Sir: As numerous inquiries have been made to this Department 
regarding the present status of the Isle of Pines I have the honor to 
request an expression of your views upon the question of the present 
ownership thereof. 

In connection therewith I beg to inclose a number of letters received 
from Mr. E. C. Harrington, together with copies of the replies thereto. 
Very respectfully, 

G. D. Meiklejohn, 
Assistant Secretary of War. 
The Attorney-General. 



isle of pines. 43 

The Cuban American League, 
New York City, Jan uary 31, 1900. 
Hon. Elihu Root, 

Secretary of War. 
Dear Sir: Is the Isle of Pines United States as Porto Pico is 
United States, or is it Cuba? 

Cordially, yours, William O. McDowell. 



[Memorandum.] 

The Isle of Pines. 

The records of the War Department contain the following matters 
with reference to the Isle of Pines: 

On April 28, 1900, Mr. E. C. Harrington, of Miami, Fla., addressed 
a letter to Col. Clarence P. Edwards, Chief of the Division of Cus- 
toms and Insular Affairs of the War Department, in which he stated 
that he had taken possession of 160 acres of land in the Isle of Pines 
and was preparing to remove his family there, and that he wished to 
know whether he would be molested in the possession of his home- 
stead, and whether he would eventually be allowed to enter it. He 
also stated that he had had correspondence with the President, the 
Land Office, and the Department of Statistics of the War Department. 

Colonel Edwards replied to this letter on the 3d of May, saying 
that the matter had been referred to the Department of Justice, and 
that as soon as its opinion was received Mr. Harrington would be 
further advised. 

On the 6th of May last Mr. Harrington acknowledged the receipt 
of Colonel Edward's letter and requested him to say whether, pending 
the decision of the Department of Justice, he would be molested in 
continuing his improvements on his homestead on the Isle of Pines. 

It appears that the matter was submitted by private letter to the 
Attorney-General, and that it was afterwards verbally withdrawn 
"because the matter was for diplomatic consideration rather than a 
question for the decision of his Department. " This is the language of 
an unsigned memorandum with Mr. Harrington's letter of May 6. 

On June 24 Mr. Harrington wrote again to Colonel Edwards and, 
referring to the fact that the letter had stated that the matter would 
be submitted to the Department of Justice, inquired as to its decision. 

On the 27th of July Mr. Harrington wrote from Habana to Gen. 
Fitzhugh Lee asking him to say if the Isle of Pines was United States 
territory and if the public domain, formerly Crown lands under 
Spanish rule, could now be located upon by the squatters until such 
time as Congress should legislate upon the subject. 

This letter was forwarded by General Lee on the 30th of July to the 
adjutant-general, Division of Cuba, for the consideration of the mili- 
tary governor, General Lee stating that he did not "know the present 
status of the Isle of Pines." The letter was then referred on the 2d 
of August, by direction of the military governor, to the secretary of 
state and government of Cuba, Diego Tamayo. 

On August 10, 1900, Seiior Tamayo returned the following report: 

1. That the Isle of Pines is an integral part of the territory of the island of Cuba 
and constitutes a municipal termino under the jurisdiction of the civil governor of the 
province of Habana, of which it forms a part in conformity with the iirst annexed 



44 ISLE OP PINES. 

note of the royal decree of the 9th of June, 1878, and it pertains also to the judicial 
district of Bejucal within the jurisdiction of the audiencia of Habana. 

A part of the said information is contained on page 14 of the census of the island 
of Cuba. 

2. In so far as the rural guard is concerned the Department can report nothing, 
inasmuch as the organization is under the direction of the heads of the military 
departments. 

The census of the island of Cuba, referred to by Senior Tamayo, is 
the census taken by the United States under the direction of the War 
Department. At page 14, of Bulletin No. 1, of this census, appears 
"Isla de Pinos," and the population is given as 3,199. 

It appears that Mr. Harrington was informed by Colonel Edwards, 
in a letter of July 3, 1899, that the question of the Isle of Pines was 
not to be decided by the War Department, and that the request for 
an opinion of the Attorney-General had been withdrawn. 

This was written in reply to Mr. Harrington's letter of the 21st of 
June. 

His letter of the 27th of July does not appear as yet to have been 
answered. 

Among the orders issued by our military commanders in Cuba is 
the following order, which relates directly to the Isle of Pines: 

No. 131.] Headquarters Division of Cuba, 

Habana, August 4, 1899. 
The military governor of Cuba directs me to announce the following appointments: 
To be mayor of the Isle of Pines, Juan Manuel Sanches. 
To be first assistant mayor of the Isle of Pines, Francisco Jesus Junco. 
[seal.] Adna E. Chaffee, 

Brigadier-General, Chief of Staff. 

On August 10, 1900, Mr. Jose M. Tarafa, who signs himself as " Late 
colonel of the Cuban army," wrote to the Secretary of War saying that 
he "owned between 30,000 and 40,000 acres of land in the Isle of Pines, 
and that he had found to his surprise that the inhabitants of the island 
unanimously believed that they were directly under the sovereignty 
of the United States and not under a protectorate, as was the island 
of Cuba, and that the same opinion seemed to be rather general in 
Habana." As a large land owner in the Isle of Pines he desired to 
know under what nag the island was to remain. 

This letter was answered by Colonel Edwards, by direction of the 
Secretary of War. on the 17th of August. Colonel Edwards states 
"that the War Department at present considers the Isle of Pines sub- 
ject to the jurisdiction of the military forces of the United States now 
in charge of civil affairs in the island of Cuba," and that the question 
asked by Mr. Tarafa, "being a political question, it is not to be decided 
by this Department." 

In the order issued by General Chaffee, as militarj 7 governor of Cuba, 
at Habana, April 18, 1900, in regard to the municipal elections of June 
last, the municipalities of the island are not enumerated; but, in view 
of the order previously issued, appointing officers for the municipality 
of the Isle of Pines, it is altogether probable that the municipality 
was included, and that it held an election under the order. 

Grand Rapids, Mich., February 5, 1900. 
The Secretary of War, 

Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: I have been informed that the Isle of Pines, south of 
Cuba, is now the property of the United States. If this is a fact, 1 



ISLE OF PINES. 45 

wish to know if I, as an American citizen, and others may be permitted 
to acquire title to a portion of it and make our homes there; and if so, 
how and when ? 

Please send me a copy of the custom-house rates between United 
States and Cuba. 

Yours, very, truly, H. P. Snyder. 



War Department, 
Office of the Assistant Secretary, 

Washington, February lip, 1900. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 
the 5th instant, asking if you, as an American citizen, and others may 
be permitted to acquire title to a portion of the Isle of Pines and 
make your homes there, and if so, how and when; also requesting a 
copy of the Customs Tariff for Cuba. 

In reply I beg to inform you that transfers of private property in 
said island may be made under the local laws and that the disposition 
of public land must await Congressional action. No copies of the 
Cuban tariff are at present available for distribution. 
Very respectfully, 

G. D. Meiklejohn, 
Assistant Secretary of War. 
Dr. H. P. Synder, 

51f, Monroe street, Grand Rapids, Mich. 



Cienfuegos, February 7, 1900. 
The Secretary of the Interior: 

I notified yon some four months ago that I had taken possession of 
160 acres of land on the Isle of Pines. This land was known during 
Spanish rule as Crown lands, so I judged it was now United States 
land, as the published statement in Habana paper by Assistant Secre- 
tary of War Meiklejohn stated that the Isle of Pines was United States 
territory according to treaty of Paris. I am going back to Isle of Pines 
March 1 to stay for good. Please instruct me when to file my entry 
and any other information required. 

Respectfully, E. C. Harrington. 

Referred to Secretary of War by Secretary of Interior February 13, 

1900. 



War Department, 

Office of the Assistant Secretary, 

Washington, February 16, 1900. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt, by reference from 
the honorable the Secretary of the Interior, of your letter of the 7th 
instant, stating that you had taken posession of 160 acres of land in 
the Isle of Pines, and requesting instructions as to where you should 
tile your entry, together with any other information required. 
In reply you are advised that the homestead and preemption laws of 



46 ISLE OF PINES. 

the United States have not as yet been extended to the islands ceded 
by Spain to this country, the subject being one that must await the 
action of Congress. 

Very respectfully, (x. D. Meiklejohn, 

Assistant Secretary of War. 
Mr. E. C. Harrington, 

Cienfuegos, Cuba. 



Memorandum.] . War Department, 

Office of the Assistant Secretary, 



Colonel Edwards: 

I can not answer the interrogatory propounded in this letter. 

The political branches of this Government, to wit, the Congress 
and the Executive are to determine the territorial extent of the sover- 
eignty and dominion of the United States and the particular territory 
over which such sovereignty and dominion shall be asserted. 

I suggest that no answer be attempted by this Department under 
the conditions at present existing. If an answer to this letter is 
imperative, I suggest that Mr. McDowell be informed that as at 
present advised this Department considers the Isle of Pines subject to 
the jurisdiction of the military forces of the United States now in 
charge of civil affairs in the island of Cuba, if such is the fact. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Chas. E. Magoon, 

Laio Officer, etc. 



Cienfuegos, February #7, 1900. 
William McKinley, 

President of the United States, Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: Some time ago I saw a letter of Secretary of War pub- 
lished in a Habana paper, stating the Isle of Pines was United States 
territory according to treaty of Paris. It lies 65 miles due south of 
Cuba and contains 240 square miles of very fine country. I, on 
strength of this publication mentioned, and several others have 
located on 160 acres each of what was formerly Crown land under 
Spanish rule. Now, I wish to know, for myself and others, if the 
island is absolutely United States land and if we will eventually be 
allowed to homestead these tracts. We are all McKinley men, and 
hope some arrangements can be made so we can cast our votes for you 
next election. 

Please answer at once and explicitly, and oblige, 

E. C. Harrington, 

Of Florida. 

My goods and household effects go forward to the island at once. 
My friends have already moved. 



■ISLE OF PINES. 17 

Cienfuegos, March 12, 1900. 
The Secretary of War. 

Dear Sir: Will you kindly reply definitely if Isle of Pines is United 
States territory or not, and if I will run any chance of losing my place 
on the former Crown land there. I can ill afford to lose what I have 
already spent, and I write to know positively before spending the bal- 
ance of my money. Hoping to hear at once, 1 am, 
Respectfully, 

E. C. Harrington. 



War Department, 
Division of Customs and Insular Affairs, 

Washington, March 81, 1900. 
Sir: By direction of the Assistant Secretary of War, I have the 
honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 12th instant 
asking for a definite statement as to whether the Isle of Pines is United 
States territory. 

In reply, you are advised that the determination of the territorial 

limits of this country does not appertain to the Department, and that 

the Isle of Pines is subject to the jurisdiction of the military forces 

of the United States now in charge of civil affairs in the island of Cuba. 

Very respectfully, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 
Lieutenant- Colonel Forty -seventh Infantry, U. S. Volunteers, 

Chief of Division. 
Mr. E. C. Harrington, 

Cienfuegos, Cuba. 



Memorandum.] 

War Department, 
Division of Customs and Insular Affairs, 



The memorandum given me in this case says: "Advise in accordance 
with Magooirs language in last paragraph." Before complying there- 
with I wish to invite attention to 377-10, showing action of the Attornej^- 
General; 377-8, which was filed in this division without answer; 377-6, 
letter of the same party, received through the Secretary of the Inte- 
rior, to which reply was made that the homestead and preemption laws 
of the United States have not yet been extended to the islands ceded 
by Spain to this country, the subject being one that must await Con- 
gressional action. 

It appears that there are certain environments of the Isle of Pines 
which complicate the question as to whether it is a part of Cuba or not. 
While there is a separation from the mainland by water nearly 30 miles 
in width, this water is so shallow that the use of the island as a penal 
colony had to be abandoned, because with certain conditions of wind 
and tide it was possible for the convicts to wade from the island to 
Cuba. Some of the most intelligent Cubans are represented by a 
recent newspaper article as holding that the Isle of Pines has always 
geographically been treated as a portion of Cuba, and that the militaiy 
government of Cuba has uniformly evaded a decision of the question. 



48 ISLE OF PIKES. 

Cienfuegos, Cuba, February lip, 1900. 
The Attorney-General of the United States. 

Dear Sir: Some time ago a letter was published in the Habana 
Herald over the signature of Secretary of War Meiklejohn stating 
that the Isle of Pines, just south of Cuba, was United States territory, 
according to the treat}^ of Paris. 

On strength of same I have located on 160 acres of land on Isle of 
Pines on land that was, during Spanish rule, known as Crown lands; 
hence, 1 judged, now was United States land. This is what I wish 
your opinion on. Is it United States territory in accordance with 
treaty of Paris; and, if so, will I be protected in locating on this 
unsurveyed land or not? I am putting all I have into a home there, 
and will thank you very much for a prompt answer. 
Respectfully, 

E. C. Harrington. 



Department of Justice, 

Washington, D. C, February 80, 1900. 
Sir: It is made by statute the duty of the Attorney-General to 
answer questions of law when submitted by the President or by the head 
of an Executive Department. The uniform practice of the Attorney- 
General from the formation of the Government has been to decline to 
answer such questions from other officers or persons. 

The reasons for this rule are obvious and strong. They admit of no 
exceptions. I am therefore compelled to return your note of 14th 
instant without further response. 

Very respectfully, John W. Griggs, 

Attorney- General. 
E. C. Harrington, 

Cienfuegos, Cuba. 



Lemon City, Fla., April W, 1900. 

The Secretary of War, Washington : 

I have written you a number of letters when in Cuba about my 
having located 160 acres of land on Isle of Pines. I am now here for 
my family and to move household effects. I return to Cuba in two 
weeks or three. Will I be interfered with by the Cuban civil authorities 
at Habana in peaceable possession of my homestead on Isle of Pines? 
1 see by New York Journal that question of Isle of Pines being United 
States territory was brought up before the Senate Committee on 
Foreign Affairs, and they decided (this is under date at Washington 
of April 7) that Isle of Pines was United States territory and would 
not be considered a part of the Cuban Republic at all. Please answer 
at once. Ten other families will go over in June. 
Respectful^, 

E. C, Harrington, 



ISLE OF PINES. 49 

Lemon City, Fla., April W, 1900. 

WlLLIAM McKlNLET, 

President United States. 
Dear Sir: I am unable to get definite answer from Secretary of 
War or land department as to whether the Isle of Pines is United 
States territory or not. I located on 160 acres of Crown land (under 
Spanish rule) last June, and I am here now for my family and addi- 
tional household effects. I see by New York Journal of April 7 that 
the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations had taken up the question 
as to whether the Isle of Pines was United States land under treaty 
of Paris, and that they had decided that it was United States territory 
and that it would not form a part of the Republic of Cuba. Will you 
kindly answer positively yes or no to this question. I expect to 
return in two or three weeks. I go on with my improvements if I 
will be unmolested in possession of my homestead. A number of 
other families are arranging to go over. We will be able to cast at 
least 50 votes for you if allowed to vote. Please answer at once so 
we can govern ourselves accordingly. This island is invaluable to 
the United States from a military strategic standpoint, and is the key 
to the Yucatan Channel. It has a very fine, deep harbor. 

Respectfully, 

E. C. Harrington. 



House of Representatives, 

Washington, D. C, April 28, 1900. 
The Secretary of War, 

Washington, D. C. 
Sir: Will you kindly advise me whether the Isle of Pines, near the 
southern coast of Cuba, still remains under Cuban rule, or is it con- 
trolled by the United States % I should be glad to have this informa- 
tion at as early a date as possible if you will give it to me, as I have 
had letters and messages from a constituent of mine that is interested 
in a large tract of timber on this island. 

Very respectfully, yours, R. K. Polk. 



War Department, 

Washington, May 2, 1900. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 
28th ultimo, asking whether the Isle of Pines, near the southern coast 
of Cuba, still remains under Cuban rule or is under the control of the 
United States. 

In reply I beg to inform 3^ou that this question was recently referred 
by this Department to the Department of Justice, and upon receipt of 
its decision thereon you will be promptl}* advised. 
Very respectfully, 

G. D. Meiklejohn, 

Acting Secretary of War. 
Hon. R. K. Polk, 

House of Repres ■ ntatives. 
S. Doc. 205, 59-1 4 



50 ISLE OF PINES. 

Miami, Fla., April 28, 1900. 

Clarence E. Edwards, U. S. Volunteers, 

Chief of Division of Customs and Insular Affairs, 

War Department, Washington. 
Dear Sir: Last August 1 took possession of 16 acres of land on Isle 
of Pines, and since have had correspondence with President, Land 
Department, Department of Statistics, and War Department. I am 
preparing to move my family there. • I would thank you very much 
if you can tell me positively if I will be molested in peaceable posses- 
sion of my homestead or not, and if I will eventually be allowed to 
enter same. Please reply at once as I leave for Cuba very soon. 
Respectfully, 

E. C. Harrington. 

I was all last summer in employment of hospital department at 
Habana, and will be there this summer. 



War Department, 
Division of Customs and Insular Affairs, 

Washington, D. C, May 3, 1900. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 
the 28th ultimo, asking information "in relation to the Isle of Pines. 

In reply, I beg to inform you that the matter has been referred to 
the Department of Justice, and that so soon as its opinion is received 
you will be further advised. 
Very respectfully, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 
Lieutenant- Colonel, Forty-seventh Infantry, U. S. Volunteers, 

Chief of Division. 

Mr. E. C. Harrington, Miami. Fla. 



Miami, Fla., May 6, 1900. 
Clarence P. Edwards, 

lieutenant- Colonel, Forty-seventh Infantry, 

TJ. S. Volunteers, Chief of Division. 
Dear Sir: Your favor stating decision regarding Isle of Pines had 
been referred to Department of Justice received. Will you kindly 
say by return mail if I will in meantime be molested or restrained from 
continuing my improvements on my homestead on Isle of Pines, as I 
wish to get 10 acres in condition for tobacco. I return to Cuba in 
ten days. 

Respectfully, E. C. Harrington. 

Department of Habana, 

Office of Chief Engineer, 

Habana, June 2 If., 1900, 
Clarence P. Edwards, 

lieutenant- Colonel Forty-seventh Infantry, 

U.S. Volunteers, Chief of Division. 
Dear Sir: On May 3 you wrote me at Miami, Fla., in answer to 
my letter asking if I would be molested by the Cuban rural guard or 



ISLE OF PINES. 51 

authorities from going on with my improvements on my homestead on 
the Isle of Pines. Your answer stated that my letter had been referred 
to the Department of Justice and that ' ' so soon as its opinion is received 
I would be further advised." Kindly let me hear what the decision is, 
as I am anxious to proceed with my place. 

Respectfully, E. C. Harrington. 



War Department, 
Division of Customs and Insular Affairs, 

Washington, D. C, July 3, 1900. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 
21st instant, referring to this division's letter of the 3d ultimo, and 
asking what the decision is in regard to the Isle of Pines. 

In reply I beg to advise you that this is a question not to be decided 
by this Department, and therefore the request for an opinion of the 
honorable the Attorney-General was withdrawn. 
Very respectfully, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 
Lieutenant- Colonel Forty -seventh Infantry, 

TJ. S. Volunteers, Chief of Division. 
Mr. E. C. Harrington, Habana, Cxiba. 



Rockport, Ind. , July 8, 1900. 
The Insular Division of the War Department. 

Gentlemen: The Department of Agriculture refers me to your 
Department for information of the Isle of Pines as to healthfulness, 
climate, resources, and health resorts, etc. 

If you can give me the necessary information as to an}?- publication 
of this kind upon the Isle of Pines, I shall be very thankful indeed. 
Respectfully, yours, 

Will. Pfeifer. 



War Department, 

Washington, July 18, 1900. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your communication 
of the 8th instant, requesting information concerning the Isle of Pines, 
and that any publication respecting said island be sent you. 

In reply I beg to inform you that there has been no publication 
issued by this Department concerning the island, but the inclosed 
typewritten copy of a report thereon may prove of some interest 
to you. 

Y%vj respectfully, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 
Lieutenant- Vol oh J Forty-seventh Infantry, JJ. S. Volunteers, 

Acting Assistant Adjutant- General. 
Mr. Will. Pfeifer, 

Rockport, Ind. 



52 ISLE OF PINES. 

Habana, Cuba, August 10, 1900. 
Hon. Elihu Root, 

Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. 
Sir: I have just returned from the Isle of Pines (Isla de Pinos), 
where I own between 30,000 and 40,000 acres of land. 

To my surprise I found the inhabitants of the island unanimously 
under the belief that they were directly under the sovereignty of the 
United States and not under a protectorate, as is the island of Cuba. 
The same opinion seems to be rather general here in Habana. 

You will readily understand how important it is to me, as the largest 
landowner on the Isle of Pines, to know under what flag that island is 
going to remain. I hesitate before investing more capital in my 
estates on the Isle of Pines until I can know how this matter stands, 
and I shall be grateful to you for an early answer which will settle 
this question. 

Thanking you in anticipation for your kind attention, I remain, 
dear sir, 

Yours, respectfully, Jose M. Tarafa, 

Late Colonel of the Cuban Army. 



War Department, 
Division of Customs and Insular Affairs, 

Washington, D. C. , August 17, 1900. 
Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to 
acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 10th instant, concerning the 
Isle of Pines. 

In reply, I beg to inform you that the Department at present con- 
siders the Isle of Pines subject to the jurisdiction of the military forces 
of the United States now in charge of civil affairs in the island of 
Cuba; that this being a political question, it is not to be decided by 
this Department. 

very respectfully, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 
Lieutenant Colonel Forty-seventh Infantry, IT. S. Volunteers, 

Acting Assistant Adjutant- General. 
Senor Jose M. Tarafa, 

Mercaderes No If., Habana, Cuba. 



Mount Vernon, Mich., October 3, 1900. 
Secretary Hat, Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir: Can you give me information as to resources of the Isle 
of Pines, with statement as to inhabitants, etc., as a few here would 
like to go there this winter, if favorable. 

If this should not come from the Department addressed to please 
refer to the proper Department. 

Very respectfully, yours, Geo. W. Mann, 

Mount Vernon, Mich. 

Referred to Secretary of War by Secretary of State, October 8, 
1900. 



isle of pines. 53 

War Department, 
Division of Customs and Insular Affairs, 

Washington, D. G, October 10, 1900. 
Sir: By direction of the Acting Secretary of War, I have the honor 
to acknowledge the receipt, by reference from the honorable the Secre- 
tary of State, of your letter of the 3d instant, requesting information 
concerning the resources of the Isle of Pines with a statement as to 
the inhabitants thereof. 

In reply I beg to inform jow. that there has been no publication 
issued by this Department descriptive of said island, but the inclosed 
typewritten copy of a report thereon may prove of interest to you. 
The population of the Isle of Pines, according to the Cuban census of 
1899, is 3,199. 

Very respectfully, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 
Lieutenant- Colonel Forty -seventh Infantry, 
TJ. S. Volunteers, Acting Assistant Adjutant- General. 

Mr. George W. Mann, 

Mount Vernon. Mich. 



Habana, Cuba, November 28, 1900. 
The Secretary of War, 

Washington, D. 0. 
Sir: I attach newspaper clipping regarding Isle of Pines. I 
applied in August, 1899, for permission to locate on the public land 
on this island, and would like to know if the decision referred to in 
this notice is true, and if it is United States territory. 
Respectfully, 

E. C. Harrington. 



ISLE OF PINES OWNERSHIP — RUMOR IN NEW YORK SAYS THAT RECENT DECISIONS GIVES 

IT TO THE UNITED STATES. 

New York, November 27. — The New York Journal publishes a report to the effect 
that a decision has been reached by Secretary Hay and Secretary Root to the effect 
that the Isle of Pines is United States territory, according to the treaty of Paris, and 
that it will be held as such. The report adds that the United States will station 
troops there and that it will at once withdraw the island from the jurisdiction of the 
municipality of Bejucal. 



Elsberry, Mo. , December 10, 1900. 
The Secretary of the Interior, 

Washi?igton, D. G. 
Dear Sir: Please send me any information the Government may 
have giving description, products, and population of the island of 
Pines, which lies near Cuba. If your Department has no information, 
please send to proper place and oblige. 

Very respectfully, B. W. Campbell, 

Elsberry, Mo. 

Referred to Secretary of War by Secretary of Interior, December 
15, 1900. 



54 isle of pines. 

War Department, 
Division of Insular Affairs, 

Washington, D. C. , December 21, 1900. 
Sir : By direction of the Acting Secretary of War, I have the honor 
to acknowledge the receipt, by reference of the honorable the Secre- 
tary of the Interior, of your postal of the 10th instant requesting 
information in regard to the Isle of Pines. 

In reply I beg to inform you that there has been no publication 
issued by this Department descriptive of said island, and to inclose 
herewith a typewritten copy of a report which may prove of interest 
to you. The population of the Isle of Pines, according the Cuban cen- 
sus of 1899, is 3,199. 

Very respectful^, 

Clarence E. Edwards, 
Lieutenant- Colonel Forty -seventh Infantry, IT. S. Volunteers, 

Acting Assistant Adjutant- General. 
Mr. B. W. Campbell, Flsberry, Mo. 



Myers, Fla., December 12, 1900. 
The Secretary of State, 

Washington, D. C. : 
Having read that it was the intention of the United States to retain 
the Isle of Pines while allowing Cuba to be independent, we write to 
you, hoping to learn the how of the matter soon. If it is true that the 
Government does hold it we much desire to secure a foothold there 
near some good harbor. Is such a plan feasible? 

Thanking you in advance for the courtesy in answering our inquiries 
we beg leave to subscribe ourselves, 

Yours, very respectfully, Seminole C. Co. , 

By M. M. Gardner. 



War Department, 
Division of Customs and Insular Affairs, 

Washington, D. C, December 22, 1900. 
Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to 
acknowledge receipt, by reference from the honorable the Secretary 
of State, of your letter of the 12th instant, asking if it is the intention 
of the United States to retain the Isle of Pines while allowing Cuba to 
be independent, and whether it is feasible for you to secure a foothold 
near some good harbor in that isle. 

In reply I beg to inform you that the Department at present con- 
siders the Isle of Pines subject to the jurisdiction of the military force 
of the United States now in charge of civil affairs in Cuba; that this 
being a political question it is not to be decided by this Department. 
Very respectfully, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 
Lieutenant- Colonel Forty -seventh Infantry, 
TJ. S. Volunteers, Acting Assistant Adjutant- General. 
Mr. M. M. Gardner, 

Secretary Seminole Canning Company, Myers, Fla. 



ISLE OF PINES. 55 

Fostoria, Iowa, February 21, 1901. 
Mr. McKinley. 

Dear Sir: Myself with a party of others have just returned from 
the Island of Pines, where we have purchased a large tract of land with 
a view of starting a strictly American colon3 T . The question now arises, 
Will the Island of Pines "become American or Cuban property if the 
island of Cuba is or does not become annexed to the United States? I 
have not been able to get any definite information as to this. There 
seems to be some dispute as to whether it will be Cuban or American 
property. Can you give me any light on the subject? If so, it will be 
very much appreciated by me, as 1 am financially interested. Any- 
thing you may write me about it will be kept strictly confidential if 
you so desire. 

Thanking you for any information you may give me, 
I remain yours, very respectfully, 

Ira A. Brown. 



War Department, 
DrvisiON of Insular Affairs, 

Washington, D. C, March 8, 1901. 
Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War I have the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt, by reference from the President, of your 
letter of the 21st ultimo, stating that yourself and friends have pur- 
chased a tract of land in the Isle of Pines, and asking whether that 
island will become American or Cuban property. 

In reply, I beg to invite your attention to Paragraph VI, page -I, of 
the Army appropiation act approved March 2, 1901, which reads: 

That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries 
of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty. 

Very respectfully, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 
Lieutenant- Colonel, Forty -seventh Infantry, 
U. S. Volunteers, Chief of Division. 
Mr. Ira A. Brown, Fostoria, Iowa. 



New York, April 6, 1901. 
Frederick Emory, Esq., 

Chief of Bureau of Foreign Commerce, Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir: I will esteem it a special favor if you will have the kind- 
ness to inform me what Department in the Government I must address 
to obtain information regarding the Island of Pines, Cuba. We would 
like to know something regarding the lands there and their adapta- 
bility for sugar-cane culture, etc. We would like to have a compre- 
hensive map of same and an} T general or detailed information that can 
be obtained, and shall be much obliged to you for any help you may 
be able to give us in this respect. 

Thanking you beforehand for the trouble, I am, dear sir, 
Respectfully, 

J. F. WlECHERT. 



56 • isle of pines. 

War Department, 
Division op Insular Affairs, 

Washington, D. C, April 11, 1901. 
Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt, by reference from the Bureau of Foreign 
Commerce, State Department, of your letter of the 6th instant, 
requesting information relative to the Isle of Pines. 

In reply I beg to advise you that the only data upon this subject in 
the possession of the Dej)artinent, which is available for distribution, 
is the report of Captain Foltz, a copy of which is herewith inclosed. 
Very respectfulty, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 
Lieutenant- Colonel Forty -seventh Infantry, 

IT. S. Volunteers, Chief of Division. 
Mr. J. F. Wiechert, 

30 Broad street, New York, N. Y 



Yankton, S. Dak., April 10, 1901. 
Sir: A constituent of mine has applied to me for information rela- 
tive to the Isle of Pines, near Cuba, acquired from Spain by this Gov- 
ernment. He is very desirous of knowing whether or not the lands on 
that island are open for settlement, and what opportunities, if any, and 
the necessary steps to be taken to procure concessions there. I under- 
stand the island and all privileges there are still under the jurisdic- 
tion of the War Department, and I would be under obligations if you 
would advise me fully in the lines above indicated. 
Very respectfully, 

Robert J. Gamble. 
The Secretary of War, 

Washington, D. C. 



April 16, 1901. 
Sir: Regarding the present ownership of the Isle of Pines, I beg to 
inclose herewith a copy of forms of letters used in reply to inquiries 
concerning the same. 

As a matter of possible interest to you, your attention is invited to 
the report of Captain Foltz, containing data regarding that island, which 
is the only information upon the subject available for distribution by 
the Department. 

Very respectfully, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 
Lieutenant- Colonel Forty-seventh Infantry, IT. S. Volunteers, 

Chief of Division. 
Hon. J. S. Sherman, 

House of Representatives. 



April 16, 1901. 
Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 10th instant, requesting 



ISLE OP PINES. 57 

information relative to the Isle of Pines, particularly as to whether or 
not the lands on that island are open for settlement and as to the nec- 
essary steps to be taken to secure concessions there. 

In reply I beg to invite your attention to the following provision of 
the army appropriation act, approved March 2, 1901, 

VI. That the Isle of Pines shall he omitted from the proposed constitutional 
houndaries of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty. 

and to advise you that in accordance therewith the disposition of pub- 
lic lands and the granting of concessions in said island will have to 
await such adjustment and action thereon by Congress. 

The inclosed copy of the report of Captain Foltz contains the only 
data regarding that island available for distribution by the Department. 
Very respectfully, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 
Lieutenant- Colonel Forty-seventh Infantry, 

U. 8. Volunteers, Chief of Division. 
Hon. R. J. Gamble, 

Yankton. S. Dak. 



Pinar del Rio, Cuba, 

April 21, 1901. 
The Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. 

Sir: Seeing in the dispatches coming from Washington that the 
President is inclined to promise the committee from the Cuban con- 
stitutional convention his support in the question of the Isle of Pines 
to have this island given to Cuba, I very respectfully call your atten- 
tion to the fact that having first assured ourselves, according to the 
treaty of Paris, that the Isle of Pines was United States territory, and 
having had that assurance confirmed by the enactment of the now 
famous Piatt amendment, that several other American citizens and 
myself have invested $25,000 in lands for the cultivation of fruits, 
coffee, tobacco, cocoanuts, etc. , and have already commenced improve- 
ments on these lands which will amount to several hundred thousand 
dollars, and we earnestly pray that you lay the matter in its proper 
light before the honorable President and communicate to him our 
emphatic protest against such a course. 

Besides my friends and myself there are a number of other Ameri- 
can citizens who have also invested their capital in that island, believ- 
ing there would be no question but that our beloved Stars and Stripes 
would ever float over this most healthful and beautiful little tropical 
island. 

In conclusion, we earnestly solicit your kind sympathy and influence 
in our behalf, and hope that you will lend to us and our investment 
the protection we so earnestly ask. 

Respectfully, Charles Raynard. 



Pinar del Rio, April 25, 1901. 
Hon. Elihu Root, 

Secretary War, Washington: 
See letter April 21. Have indorsement 23 American citizens pur- 
chasers land in Isle of Pines, believing it United States territory, res- 



58 . ISLE OF PINES. 

pectfully protesting against that island being promised to Cuban 
commissioners. Kindly take matter up with the honorable President 
in our behalf. 

Charles Raynard, Chairman. 



April 27, 1901. 

Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 21st, and telegram of the 
25th, instant, stating that you and other American citizens have made 
investments in the Isle of Pines in the belief that the said island is 
United States territory, that you understand from certain press dis- 
patches that the President is inclined to promise the committee from 
the Cuban constitutional convention his support to have this island 
given to Cuba, and protesting against such promise being given. 

In reply, I bed to advise } t ou that the Department is not informed 
that the President intends making any promises to the Cuban commit- 
tee, and to invite your attention to Paragraph VI, page 4, of the 
army appropriation act, approved March 2, 1901, which reads: 

That the Isle of Pines shall he omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries 
of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty. 

Very respectfully, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 

Lieutenant- Colonel Forty -seventh Infantry, 

TJ. S. Volunteers, Chief of Division. 
Mr. Charles Raynard, 

Pinar del Rio. Cuba. 



Milford, Iowa, April 30, 1901. 
The Secretary of War, 

Washington, D. C. 

Sir: Seeing in the dispatches coming from Washington that the 
President is inclined to promise the committee from the Cuban con- 
stitutional convention his support, I very respectfully call your 
attention to the fact that having first assured ourselves, according to 
the treaty of Paris, that the Isle of Pines was United States territory, 
and having had that assurance confirmed by the now famous Piatt 
amendment, that several American citizens and myself have invested 
$25,000 in lands for the culture of fruits, coffee, tobacco, etc., and 
have already commenced improvements on these lands. And we 
earnestly pray that you lay the matter in its proper light before the 
honorable President and communicate to him our emphatic protest 
against such a course. 

Besides myself and friends there are a good many other American 
citizens that have invested their capital in this island believing there 
could be no question but that the Stars and Stripes would ever float 
over this most healthful and beautiful tropical island. In conclusion 
we earnestly solicit your kind sympathy and influence in our behalf 
and hope you will lend to^ us and our interests the protection we 
earnestly ask. 

Respectfully, H. R. Henderson, 

Milford, Dickinson County, Iowa. 



isle of pines. 59 

May 7, 1901. 

Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 21st ultimo, stating that 
you and other American citizens have made investments in the Isle 
of Pines under the belief that said island is United States territory; 
that the President, you learn from the newspapers, is inclined to 
promise the committee from the Cuban constitutional convention his 
support and protesting against such a course. 

In reply, I beg to advise you that this Department is not informed 
that the President has made any such promise to the Cuban committee, 
and with respect to the title of the Isle of Pines, your attention is 
invited to paragraph 6, page 1, of the army appropriation act, ap^ 
proved March 2, 1901, which reads: 

That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries 
of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty. 

Very respectfully, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 

Lieutenant- Colonel Forty-seventh Infantry, 

U. 8. Volunteers, Chief of Division. 
Mr. H. R. Henderson, 

Milford, Dickinson County, Iowa. 



The Secretary op War, Washington, D. C. 

Sir: Seeing in the dispatches coming from Washington that the 
President is inclined to promise the committee from the Cuban con- 
stitutional convention his support in the question of the Isle of Pines 
to have this island given to Cuba, I very respectfully call }^our atten- 
tion to the fact that having first assured ourselves, according to the 
treaty of Paris, that the Isle of Pines was United States territory, and 
having had that assurance confirmed by the now famous Piatt amend- 
ment, that several other American citizens and myself have invested 
$25,000 in lands for the cultivation of fruits, coffee, tobacco, cocoanuts, 
etc., and have already commenced improvements on these lands, which 
will amount to several hundred dollars, and we earnestly pray that you 
lay the matter in its proper light before the honorable President 
and communicate to him our emphatic protest against such a course. 

Besides my friends and myself there are a number of other Amer- 
ican citizens who have also invested their capital in that island, believ- 
ing there would be no question but that our beloved Stars and Stripes 
would ever float over this most healthful and beautiful little tropical 
island. 

In conclusion we earnestly solicit your kind sympathy and influence 
in our behalf, and hope that you will lend to us and our investment 
the protection we so earnestly ask. 

Respectfully, Homes Wise, 

Fostoria, Clay County, Iowa. 



May 7, 1901. 
Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt of your letter without date, stating that you 



60 ISLE OP PINES. 

and other American citizens have made investments in the Isle of 
Pines in the belief that the said island is United States territory, that 
you understand from certain press dispatches that the President is 
inclined to promise the committee from the Cuban convention his sup- 
port to have this island given to Cuba, and protesting against such a 
course. 

In reply I beg to advise you that this Department is now informed 
that the President has not made an y such promise to the Cuban com- 
mittee, and to invite your attention to paragraph 6, page 4, of the 
army appropriation act approved March 2, 1901, which reads: 

That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries 
of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty. 

Very respectfully, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 

Lieutenant- Colonel Forty-seventh Infantry, 

U. S. Volunteers, Chief of Division. 
Mr. H. Wise, 

Fostoria Clay Comity, Iowa. 



Cincinnati, Ohio, May 6, 1901. 
The Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. 

Sir: Having come to my notice dispatches from Washington that 
the President is inclined to promise the committee from the Cuban 
Constitutional Convention his support in the question of the Isle of 
Pines, to have this island given to Cuba, I wish to respectfully call 
your attention to the fact, that having first assured myself, according 
to the Treaty of Paris, that the Isle of Pines was United States terri- 
tory, and having had that assurance confirmed by the now famous 
Piatt Amendment, a number of American citizens and myself have 
invested $25,000 in lands for the cultivation of fruits, etc., and have 
already commenced improvements, which will amount to hundreds of 
dollars. We earnestly pray that you lay the matter in its proper light 
before the honorable President, and communicate to him our emphatic 
protest against such a course. 

Besides my friends and myself, there are a number of other Ameri- 
can citizens who have also invested their capital in that island, believing 
there would be no question but that our Stars and Stripes would ever 
float over this beautiful, healthful little garden spot of the world. 

In conclusion, we earnestly beg your kind sympathy and influence in 
our behalf, and hope that you will give to us and our investment the 
protection we so earnestly ask. 

Respectfully, F. S. Rothenhoefer, • 

%16 West Sixth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio. 



May 8, 1901. 
Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 6th instant, stating that 
you and other American citizens have made investments in the Isle of 
Pines in the belief that the said island is United States territory, and 
that you understand from certain press dispatches that the President 



ISLE OF PINES. 61 

is inclined to promise the committee from the Cuban constitional con- 
vention his support to have this island given to Cuba, and protesting 
against such a course. 

In reply, I beg to advise you that this Department is not informed 
that the President has made such a promise to this committee, and 
invite your attention to the Army appropriation act approved March 
2, 1901, which reads: 

That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional bounda- 
ries of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty. 

Very respectfully, 

C. R. Edwards, 

Lieutenant- Colonel Forty-seventh Infantry, 

U. S. Volunteers, Chief of Division. 

Mr. F. S. ROTHENHOEFER, 

Wo. 216 West Sixth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio. 



Minneapolis, May SO, 1901. 
The Secretary of War, 

Washington, D. C. 

Sir: Seeing in the dispatches coming from Washington that the 
honorable President is inclined to promise to the committee from 
the Cuban constitutional convention his support in the question of 
the Isle of Pines, to have this island given to Cuba, I very respectfully 
'call your attention to the fact that, having first assured ourselves, 
according to the treaty of Paris, that the Isle of Pines was United 
States territory, and having had that assurance confirmed by the 
now famous Piatt amendment; that several other American citizens 
and myself have invested $25,000 in lands for the cultivation of fruits, 
coffee, tobacco, cocoanuts, etc., and have already commenced improve- 
ments on these lands which will amount to several hundred thousand 
dollars, and we earnestly pray that 3^011 lay the matter in its proper 
light before the honorable President and communicate to him our 
great distress by, and emphatic protest against, such a course. 

Besides my friends and myself there are a number of other Ameri- 
can citizens who have also invested their capital in that island believ- 
ing there would be no question but that our beloved Stars and Stripes 
would ever float over this most beautiful little tropical island. 

In conclusion, we earnestly solicit your kind sympathy and influence 
in our behalf, and implore you to give us and our investment the pro- 
tection we so earnestly ask. 

Respectfully, ' W T . R. Y. Miller. 



June 5, 1901. 
Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War I have the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 30th ultimo, stating that 
you and other American citizens have made investments in the Isle of 
Pines in the belief that the said island is United States territory and 
that you understand from certain press dispatches that the President 
is inclined to promise the committee from the Cuban constitutional 
convention his support to have this island given to Cuba, and protest- 
ing against such a course. 



62 ISLE OF PINES. 

In reply I beg to advise you that this Department is not informed 
that the President has made such a promise to this committee, and 
invite your attention to the army appropriation act, approved March 
2, 1901, which reads: 

That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries 
of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty. 

Very respectfully, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 

Lieutenant- Colonel Forty -seventh Infantry, 

U. 8. Volunteers, Chief of Division. 
By Alex R. Speel, Chief Clerk. 
Mr. W. R. Y. Miller, 

]$7-l$9 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, Minn. 



308 Walnut Street, 

Philadelphia, June 28, 1901. 
Hon. Wm. McKinlet, 

Washington, D C. 
My Dear Sir: As the Isle of Pines is now United States territory 
and too small for a separate government, would it not prove wise and 
expedient to attach it as a county to Florida? 

In that wa} r many vexed questions would be avoided and Florida as 
well as the country gain another winter resort in the Tropics. Such 
course would also influence the Cubans to favor annexation, to be on 
equally favorable terms. 

Very respectfully, Louis S. Amonson. 



July 20, 1901. 

Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War 1 have the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt by reference from the President of your letter 
of recent date suggesting that many vexed questions would be avoided 
by attaching the Isle of Pines as a county to the State of Florida. 

In reply I beg to invite your attention to the following provision of 
the army appropriation act approved March 2, 1901, which reads: 

That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries 
of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty. 

Very respectfully, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 

Chief of Division. 
Mr. Louis S. Amonson, 

308 Walnut street, Philadelphia, Pa. 



Erudia, Tex., August 10, 1901. 
United States War Department: 

If you publish any information relative to the Isle of Pines and its 
advantages to settlers please send it to me. What are the conditions 



ISLE OF PINES. 63 

of agriculture, and is there any Government land that can be taken up ? 
Does the National Government encourage colonization by Americans? 
Respectfully, 

J. E. Shelton. 



August 14, 1901. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter 
of the 10th instant, asking for information relative to the Isle of 
Pines, its agricultural advantages, and if there is Government land 
that can be entered. 

In reply, I beg to advise you that the Department has not at the 
present time any information relative to said island available for dis- 
tribution, but a letter addressed to the collector of customs, Bata- 
bano, Cuba, may secure for you the information desired. 
Very respectfully, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 

Chief of Division. 
J. G. Harbord, 

Assista/tit. 
Mr. J. E. Shelton, 

ErudAa, Collin County, Tex. 



Isle of Pines Company, 
JVew York, J\ r . Y, November 8, 1901. 
Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, 

President of the United States, Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: We take the liberty of addressing you, not only on 
behalf of our company, but at the request of a number of other people 
who are investing, and who have emigrated to the Isle of Pines in the 
belief that the island is ultimately to become a part of the United 
States. 

The writer found by conversation with a large number of natives on 
the island that the sentiment is almost a unit for annexation and that 
they feel that it would be a real hardship for them should it be decided 
for any reason that the island is to remain a part of Cuba, while as for 
those Americans who have made investments or contemplate investing 
and emigrating to the island, they would regard it as a real calamity. 
The Isle of Pines is capable of sustaining a very large population to 
the square mile, and it is believed by people who have given the mat- 
ter their personal attention that if the island is once open to American 
enterprise under the American flag that the progress made in a few 
years will be a striking object lesson to the natives in all sections of 
the West Indies. 

You will find herewith inclosed a prospectus descriptive of the pur- 
chases recently made by our company and on which we hope in the 
near future to have a large number of enterprising Americans settle. 
Yours, truly, 

Isle of Pines Co., 
J. C. Ticiienor, 

President 



64 ISLE OF PINES. 

fProspectus issued by the Isle of Pines Company. Directors: J. C. Tichenor, president The Globe 
L Publishing Company, New York; J. A. Hill, of J. A. Hill & Co., publishers, New York; S. H. Pearcy, 
of Pearcy, Morales & Co., wholesale manufacturing agents, Habana, Cuba; William Hillman, pres- 
ident The Revere Rubber Company, New York; J. C. Lenney, attorney, 149 Broadway, New York. 
Officers: J. C. Tichenor, president; S. H. Pearcy, vice-president; J. A. Hill, treasurer; William Hill- 
man, secretary. Owners of the Santa Teresa estate, the La Cisterna estate, the La Concepcion estate, 
the Hato Viej'o estate, the Nuestra Senara estate, the San Carlos estate, the Santa Isabel estate, the 
Santa Elena estate, the Alcancia estate. Developers of lands on the Isle of Pines. Growers of citrus 
fruits and tobacco.] 

The Isle of Pines. 

location. 

Isla de Pinos (the Isle of Pines) was discovered by Columbus in 1493, during his 
second voyage. It is situated between 21 and 22 degrees north latitude and 82 and 
83 degrees west longitude, about 45 miles off the coast of Cuba, almost directly south 
of the city of Habana. 

HISTORY. 

From a date soon after the settlement of the American Continent until early in the 
Nineteenth Century the Isle of Pines was much frequented by pirates. Its many 
natural harbors, formed by coral reefs, made safe and convenient headquarters for 
the marauders who lived by preying on the ships and settlements of all the nations 
engaged in the West Indian trade. Soon after the breaking up of these pirate bands, 
in the early part of the century, Spain began to use the island as a penal colony and 
as a military post. Since that time until the treaty of Paris with the United States 
the Spanish Government, when not engaged in war with the Cubans, had a consid- 
erable force of soldiers garrisoned upon the island. It was here that most of her 
political prisoners were sent, since they could be easily guarded, and the chances of 
communicating with their friends or fellow conspirators were reduced to a minimum; 
and so it came about that the average Cuban learned to think of the Isle of Pines 
much as the friends of Dreyfus think of Devils Island or as the Boers think of the 
Island of St. Helena. 

The Isle of Pines is the very latest of Uncle Sam's territorial acquisitions. By the 
treaty of Paris, Spain ceded to the United States all of her island possessions in the 
West Indies except the island of Cuba; but as the Isle of Pines had, for administra- 
tive purposes, always been a part of Cuba, it became necessary, in order to carry out 
the intent of the treaty, to expressly separate the Isle of Pines from Cuba; this was 
effected through the Piatt resolution, which was accepted by the Cuban constitu- 
tional convention completely, the effect being that all products of every kind will 
now come into any State of the Union free from the duty levied on Cuban products. 
This saving of duty as between all products from the Isle of Pines and from Cuba, 
will, in itself, constitute a very handsome profit, while on some articles, such as 
tobacco and cigars, the saving is indeed remarkable. 



We find an elaborate pamphlet, prepared as early as 1867, on the Isle of Pines, 
written by Dr. Jose De La Luz Hernandez, of Habana, and treating at length the 
climate, the air, the soil, and the general health-giving qualities of the waters of the 
island. The pamphlet cites a large number of remarkable cures of different diseases, 
the account of such cures having been for the most part taken from the reports of 
army physicians located on the island. Many of these cures, indeed, came under 
the direct supervision of the learned doctor himself. Extended quotations from the 
pamphlet are unnecessary, since about all there stated is now common knowledge. 
It is enough to print a single extract from which we learn much of interest — that the 
Isle Pines is a region of perpetual summer, and that owing to its wholesome waters, 
its proximity to the Gulf stream, its pure air and peculiarly healthful climate, it is 
a most desirable place of residence, entirely safe and delightful even for those reared 
in northern latitudes. 

[Translation.] 

"The Isle of Pines, to judge from its aspect, appears to be of a volcanic formation. 
In course of time the downwash from the hills and the sediment of the retiring sea 
formed the rich plains whose soil reveals their geogenic composition. Many rivulets 
gather the waters which gush from innumerable springs as well as that which falls 
during the rainy months, all uniting to form large brooks — even navigable rivers. 
In some of these rivers many springs gush up, but what is most remarkable is that 



ISLE OP PINES. 65 

the waters of all are potable and agreeable to the taste. Some have the common 
temperature of the climate, while in others the temperature is somewhat high. At 
the source of the rivers are also thermal springs, more or less hot, almost all of 
medical virtue and hygienic qualities. 

"Other items contributing to make the climate healthful are the dryness of the 
soil as well as of the air, whose temperature is generally more even than in the 
island of Cuba; whereas the cold is not felt as in Cuba', nor is there known the suf- 
focating heat. During only a few days in summer have I seen the thermometer rise 
above 20° nor fall lower than 20° during the coolest months of the year, rarely rising 
above 90° in summer or falling below 50° in winter. Thus does it happen that the 
evenness of the temperature during the year, the purity of the atmosphere, which is 
slightly embalmed with the odoriferous rosin of the pine trees, the refreshing sea 
breezes which blow from every quarter, and other influences which we can not 
clearly trace (but are doubtless due to the nature of the soil) contribute very won- 
derfully to the speedy restoration of those suffering from various diseases — even of 
malignant form." 

A DESIRABLE PLACE OP RESIDENCE. 

Any person from a northern climate can live in the Isle of Pines in the summer 
with as much comfort as in the State of New York, while the winter months are of 
course very much more comfortable. The Isle of Pines has one continuous summer, 
the variations in the temperature throughout the entire year being scarcely as great 
as often occur in a single summer month in many of the Northern States. It is rare 
indeed when the thermometer in summer on the island registers as high as 90°, and 
in winter the mercury never falls below 50°. No such thing as sunstroke or heat 
prostration is known, and the climatic effect on northern people, although engaged 
in outdoor occupations even in the rainy season of the year, is not serious, because 
there are no sudden weather changes. It is claimed by the natives that there has 
never been a case of typhoid or yellow fever on the island. The soil being a loam 
(not a clay), with a slight mixture of sand, there is very little mud during the 
wettest time of the year, while all kinds of plows and other field or garden tools 
scour beautifully, rendering it a great pleasure to work the soil as compared with the 
soil of Cuba, where both the red and black lands are so muddy in the w r et season 
and hard in the dry, and tools will not scour whether the soil be dry or wet. 

Road building is easy on the Isle of Pines. While the country as a rule is rolling 
table-land, the higher elevations are not abrupt ; there is very little "hill land. ' ' The 
statement has been made by a gentleman who has traveled all over the island on 
horseback that trolley lines could be run through almost every section without 
making a single cut or a single grade more than sufficient to run the water off the 
tracks. These same trolley cars, when the needs of the people demand or justify it, 
could be run from power generated by the waters of the high-banked, swift-running 
little rivers which take their rise in the south part of the island and run to the sea 
in a general northerly direction. The rivers are fed by springs and furnith ample 
water for power even in the dryest time of the year, and, owing to the rapid fall, 
can easily be utilized for power, and in many places for irrigation, were it needed. 
The latter, however, is not necessary, as the rainfall is sufficient to mature crops of 
all kinds, 

The Isle of Pines is within four days by boat and rail of every large city in the 
United States except San Francisco. A number of direct lines of steamers pass 
the island, and there will thus be competing lines, which means the lowest posssble 
freight rates. Heretofore shipments have been made to Habana, making connec- 
tions at that point with two different lines of steamers to New York. 

GENERAL ALTITUDE. 

Portions of the island along the coast line are somewhat low, as shown by the 
accompanying map, while the interior of the southern portion is not much above 
the level of the sea. Toward the center of the island will be found open ranges of 
hills or ridges, of which the most extensive are from 2 to 3 miles in length without 
being much more than 1 and at most 2 in width, none of them exceeding 1,000 feet 
in height. The northern portion, except for small tracts here and there directly on 
the coast line, is what is known as rolling table-land, and is well watered with 
numerous streams. There are occasional ranges of low hills, all of which are thickly 
covered with forest trees and luxuriant vegetation. 

THE NATIVE PEOPLE. 

The natives are of Spanish descent and speak the Spanish language. They were 
loyal to Spain during the recent war, but took no part in it, and they are now almost 

S. Doc. 205, 59-1 5 



66 ISLE OP PIKES. 

to a man gratified that the island is United States territory. There are only about 
3,000 natives on the entire island. The country is rapidly filling up with people 
from the United States, and in a very short time these newcomers will occupy a large 
portion of the land. The natives are an intelligent, hospitable people, and welcome 
emigration from the States. 

PRODUCTS. 

The Isle of Pines produces about everything that grows in tropical climates — 
oranges, lemons, and all other citrus fruits; coffee, rubber, pineapples, bananas, 
sugarcane, tobacco, dates, grapes, figs, cocoanuts — and nearly all kinds of field and 
garden products raised in the Northern countries. There are also many varieties of 
native fruits but little known outside of the Tropics, but of rare flavor — some of them 
of great importance and commercial value for the Northern markets. 

A GREAT ENTERPRISE. 

The Isle of Pines Company has been fortunate in securing several tracts of very 
choice land in the island, comprising a total of nearly 80,000 acres, the boundary 
lines of which are indicated with red ink in the accompanying map. The main 
tract is in the northwestern part of the island, and is perfectly adapted to the culture 
of citrus fruits, oranges, lemons, etc., and of tobacco. Our lands will produce luxu- 
riantly all of the different products before mentioned, and farther on we present a 
view of the possibilities of each product from wholly trustworthy information, the 
same, indeed, that prompted the extensive purchase and investments of the com- 
pany. We know that all of these products are extremely profitable to grow as com- 
pared with the profits of agriculture in the North, yet it is the intention of the 
company to confine their operations for some years largely to the cultivation of 
oranges, lemons, and tobacco. The orange industry of Florida, as everyone knows, 
has been repeatedly blighted by frosts, making the supply of good fruit very scarce, 
and with the ever-increasing demand there is a magnificent field for operations in 
that particular line. 

The proximity of the Isle of Pines to the former orange belt of Florida makes it a 
comparatively easy matter to secure experienced people to be employed in the culti- 
vation of this special fruit. A large number of experienced growers are seeking 
safety from the blasts of cold weather — from the "northers" so frequent in Florida 
of late years. Our company finds these growers anxious to take land and cultivate 
the trees on shares, a division of the land to be made at the end of five years, and we 
are rapidly making such contracts with experienced, responsible people. In fact, 
we shall have several thousand acres under cultivation on this plan in a very short 
time. While cultivating the trees during the first five years we shall also cultivate 
tobacco and winter-garden products on the same land, and will in that way make the 
land serve a double purpose. Garden products will grow and mature in the Isle of 
Pines if planted in any of the different months of the year, yet the best crops are 
obtained by planting so as to mature during the months of December, January, and 
February. Very much better profits are obtained if the crop is marketed in the 
Northern cities during the three months named. It is then midwinter, and the 
products from the Southern States have not yet come into the market. The harves- 
ing, however, of some crops can be extended over a long period. Tomatoes, for 
instance, can be grown so as to come into market November 1, and they will continue 
to bear bountifully for the market and command good prices from November until 
the following Mav. 



Investigation will prove to anyone taking the trouble to make the necessary 
inquiries that an orange grove stocked with the right sort of fruit properly cultivated 
in the right soil and climate is worth, at 6 years old, in the orange belt of California, 
$1,000 per acre. Similar prices were current in the Florida fruit belt before the 
industry was crippled year after year by frosts. The trees begin to bear the third 
year, and the crop for the third, fourth, and fifth years will more than pay for clear- 
mg and fencing the land, for purchasing the trees (the finest budded stock 2 years 
old when removed from the nursery), and for the cultivation of the trees, even 
though no crop of winter vegetables are raised and marketed from the land during 
the five years the trees are maturing, while if the vegetables are raised a handsome 
profit is realized from the very first year and for each succeeding year. The annual 
income from a grove after 6 years of age, if cultivated under the conditions before 
described is, according to the lowest figure named by people of long experience in 
orange eulture, f 300 per acre. 



ISLE OF PINES. 67 



The method of cultivating lemons is much the same as of oranges. The trees are 
quite as hardy and the profits equally large. The culture of lemons is preferred by 
many growers, as the fruit keeps longer and does not have to be marketed so soon 
after maturity. Sicily and California produce the larger portion of the lemons used 
in the United States. The former place is many thousand miles distant and the 
import duty is 1 cent per pound, or about 85 cents for each box, which amount of 
itself makes a very nice profit. California is more than 3,000 miles from the con- 
suming centers, and the excessive rates of freight to reach the markets give the 
grower of lemons in the Isle of Pines, with no duty to pay and .a low freight rate, a 
most decided advantage. 

GRAPE FRUIT. 

This luscious fruit has become very popular with the well-to-do people of the 
northern cities. It is one of the most delicious and healthful of all the citrus fruits. 
It commands a good price and the demand has never been fully supplied. It is a 
good shipper and can be sent as far as the European markets in good condition. The 
profits from a grove of grape fruit is larger than from either oranges or lemons. 
When budded in the rough lemon stocks of the Isle of Pines it bears well and pro- 
duces fruit of the finest quality, the flavor and color being superior to that grown in 
either Florida or California. There are comfortable fortunes to be made in grape 
fruit alone. 



The citron of commerce is not so well known as most other citrus fruits, and appears 
not to have been cultivated to any extent in any part of the United States. This 
fruit grows very luxuriantly in the Isle of Pines, the trees beginning to bear at three 
years of age. The fruit is of enormous size and of a very fine quality, and the quan- 
tity that can be produced on an acre of ground is almost incredible. The cultiva- 
tion and preparation of citron for the market will become in the near future a 
large and important industry on the island. 

COCOANUTS. 

The cocoanut palm is regarded by many as the most beautiful of all tropical foli- 
age. It grows in all its glory on the island. Beginning to bear at about five years of* 
age, it continues fruitful for a period of more than one hundred years. The fruit \ 
ripens on the same stock or tree every month in the year, and, according to tradition 1 , 
or to the belief of the natives, bears one nut for each day in the year. The cocoa- / <* 
nut does best on the low land very near the seashore, and should be planted in a/ 
sandy soil, although the quality of the soil does not seem to be so important as the 
direct proximity of the ocean. The tree requires very little cultivation after the first 
year, as it has greater strength than other tropical vegetation, and if planted the 
proper distance apart the trees will smother out about everything else. 

The growing of cocoanuts can be made one of the most profitable of all tropical 
crops, there being no expense to speak of except to pick up the nuts as they fall from 
the trees and remove the hull, the only process necessary before sending them to the 
market. Land can be utilized for cocoanuts which is of very little value for the cul- 
tivation of other crops. The trees beautify the sandy slopes of the low-lying shore 
and bring their owner substantial and sure profit besides. 



Every native housekeeper has his patch of bananas and they appear to grow any- 
where and on any kind of soil and under nearly all conditions, and can "always be 
marketed in the United States at a good profit; the amount of profit realized "from 
each acre of ground when properly cultivated is according to the opinion of experi- 
enced growers so large as to appear incredible to the farmer from the north who is 
accustomed to the small profits realized from growing the cereals, corn, etc. 

PINEAPPLES. 

This fruit is produced easily and is of fine flavor; it is without hard substance or 
core in the center; is very sweet and of unsurpassed richness. The varieties now 
produced on the island are not the best shippers as they do not keep as well as the 
poorer qualities. The kind usually found in the markets of the North are rather 



68. ISLE OF PINES. 

sour with a hard core in the center. The best kind for shipping can be successfully 
cultivated on the island, yet the fine quality now found there offers large profits to 
anyone who will start a canning factory and pack them and put the goods on the 
market in that shape. Pineapples are, perhaps, the only fruit that does not lose its 
quality by the canning process. It has long been a controversy between the natives 
as to whether the island derived its name from the pine timber or on account of the 
fine quality of its pineapples. 



The Isle of Pines is destined to become a great coffee section. Although not yet 
extensively cultivated the trees are found in different places and show a healthy con- 
dition and a good growth. They are loaded, with the berry which is of a very fine 
quality, although the trees are not cultivated and are allowed to grow up like a jun- 
gle. It will be observed by the height of the two men in the above illustration that 
the coffee shrubbery is fourteen or fifteen feet high; the photograph was taken just 
at the time when the fruit was beginning to ripen. Expert coffee growers pronounce 
the Isle of Pines an ideal place for its cultivation and there is not the slightest doubt 
that it will become an important industry. 



Figs are in their natural state in the Isle of Pines; they require more care than 
either the cocoanut or the mangoe, but they are not difficult to grow, and when 
properly managed yield large profits to both the grower and the packer, and will 
perhaps commence to bring returns sooner than any of the other tropical fruits. 
From the fifth year the yield per acre is enormous and the price at which the'well- 
packed article sells for in the markets indicates large profits. 



Dates, like all fruit-bearing palms, grow to perfection on the island, the trees are ' 
easily cultivated, commence bearing at about five years of age, and continue to bear 
for a very long time thereafter; a very large quantity can be grown on an acre of 
ground ; the fruit is very rich, nutritious, and will keep for a long time when properly 
packed, and is a profitable crop. 

KUBBEE. 

The rubber tree grows well, but has never been commercially utilized. It could be 
made a very profitable industry, as the island is in exactly the same latitude as the 
great rubber-producing section of Mexico. Very little cultivation is required after 
the first year; the trees are hardy, of very rapid growth, and begin to yield returns 
to the grower at about six years of age. 

SUC4AR CANE. 

Sugar cane, so long one of the staple products of Cuba, grows luxuriantly on the 
Isle of Pines, and will be extensively cultivated and constitute a profitable crop. 
The island will have an advantage over any section not a part of the United States on 
account of the absence of custom duties. 

THE MANGOE. 

One of the very finest of the many native fruits. The accompanying illustration 
shows a grove of 6 acres, located on the property of the Isle of Pines Company. The 
mangoe always command good prices in the markets of all the larger towns of the 
Tropics, and were observed recently by the writer in the city of Habana selling at 50 
cents per dozen. 

TOBACCO. 

Mr. Williams, of the National Bank of Cuba, who sent a fruit-land expert to 
examine the property purchased by the Isle of Pines Company, also sent another 
expert, a man not only posted on the quality of tobacco but an expert on tobacco 
land as well, and his report (which we print further on) was- to the effect that the 
company's lands in the island would produce tobacco of as good quality and selling 
value as the best tobacco grown in Cuba. The sending of the expert referred to was 
not necessary in order to establish the fact that the land would produce good tobacco, 



ISLE OF PINES. 69 

as Bock & Co., of Habana, who are very large growers of tobacco and manufacturers 
of high-grade cigars so extensively sold at high prices in the United States, cultivated 
for three years during the war between Spain and Cuba, more than 2,000 acres oi 
tobacco land now our property, and the fact that they did not then and have not 
since changed the brands of their cigars is a certain indication that the tobacco raised 
on the Isle of Pines was as good as the Cuban stock. As a matter of fact, there were 
a great many bales of tobacco raised on our land during the season just closed, shipped 
to Habana and sold as first-class Pinar del Rio tobacco, and afterwards shipped to 
the United States and elsewhere as the fine Habana article. 

Good tobacco land in Cuba is very high in price; much of it can not be purchased 
at any reasonable figure. Their largest market is the United States, and the duty, in 
order to get the tobacco into the country, ranges from 35 cents to $1.85 per pound. 
The duty on cigars averages about $70 per thousand. Both tobacco and cigars from 
the Isle of Pines come in absolutely free of duty. 

CATTLE RAISING. 

Grass in the Isle of Pines, from the standpoint of cattle raising, is the salvation of 
the country. It has a most wonderful growth; green all the year and very nutri- 
tious. So nearly does everything run to grass that land left uncultivated for only a 
few months will have a thick growth 3 feet high, and it is not of the class which 
grows upon uncultivated land in the North commonly known as "wet weather 
grass." From the crop-growing standpoint the grass is something of a pest, taking 
the place of weeds in the northern countries. Cattle raising has always been the 
chief industry of the natives, who have a natural disinclination to do the necessary 
work incident to the cultivation of crops. What more can they wish than to let the 
cattle roam over the range and take care of themselves — pastures always green, with 
no winter storms and no winter feed to prepare. Large numbers of cattle in fine 
condition and of good breed are found in all sections of the island. Habana and 
other places in Cuba furnish the market, the prices being higher since the war 
between Cuba and Spain than in the United States. 

TROPICAL V. OTHER AGRICULTURE. 

It is a well-established fact that the farmer of the North gets in return for all his 
capital and skill, money and toil, only an average of a beggarly $8.26 an acre for his 
crops each year, and that from land so high priced that interest at a fair rate is as 
much as a fifth part of the value of his crops. 

Taking the lowest figures obtainable from people experienced in tropical agricul- 
ture, there is not one of the staples, such as oranges, lemons, grape fruit, pineapples, 
bananas, coffee, figs, cocoanuts, tobacco, etc., when properly cultivated, will yield 
the grower less than $100 per acre each year, and most of them with good shipping 
facilities will give much more. Our modesty prevents us from printing in this sum- 
mary the actual tables of figures taken from statistics bearing on each of the staple 
products, as people with knowledge of the returns from staple farm products of the 
North, but who have made no study of tropical agriculture, would doubt the accu- 
racy of the figures. Full information, however, will be furnished to those who 
desire it. 

Sir Thomas Lipton recently said: "For sure, large, and permanent returns nothing 
equals a Avell- managed tropical plantation." 

The Indianapolis News recently stated : "Tropical agriculture is enormously profit- 
able if the plantation has adequate shipping facilities." 

Russell Sage recently said: "If I were a young man I would invest my money in a 
tropical plantation. It is better than a bank or most anything else." 

Spreckels is making millions from his plantation in Hawaii. Lipton has been pay- 
ing the English stockholders in his Ceylon plantations enormous dividends for many 
years. 

A man with no means at all should not go to the Isle of Pines or any other new 
country, but any intelligent person, with sufficient means to purchase teams, imple- 
ments, etc. , and to pay necessary living expenses until a crop can be raised can not 
make a mistake by emigrating to the Isle of Pines, and, by expending the same 
amount of energy necessary to make only a moderate living in any of the northern 
states, can lay by considerable money each year, and, at the same time that he cul- 
tivates his crop of winter vegetables, he cultivates his orange, lemon, and other citrus 
fruit trees, which will in five or six years make him quite well off, and, on the basis 
we are letting land on the shares to growers of fruit, no investment in land is neces- 
sary, and, if the party taking the land can handle as much as 100 acres, he can easily 



70 ISLE OF PINES. 

in six years' time be worth forty or fifty thousand dollars, while, if he has sufficient 
capital and energy to handle as much as 200 acres, he can make in six years' time 
nearly $100,000. His portion of the land will be worth the amount if he plants 
the best qualities of fruit and gives them the proper cultivation, and a profit should 
be made on other products raised at the same time the trees are cultivated. 

OUE CLAIM. 

We claim that the Isle of Pines will raise all kinds of tropical products as well as 
anywhere else on the American continent and better than they can be raised in any 
other section within the jurisdiction of the United States. There is certainly no 
other place in the country where all sorts of citrus fruits of as good quality can be 
grown in such abundance and marketed in the great cities so cheaply. The oranges 
are as fine as were ever produced in the Indian Kiver district of Florida, and that is 
claiming a great deal, as the varieties from that section were (until frost interfered) 
considered the best in the world. As an indication of the value of the fruit grown 
in that section, and of the value of good orange land in any section, we call the 
attention of the reader to a recent article in one of the leading magazines giving an 
account of the methods used by some of the growers to protect the trees from the 
frosts by the use of tents. A separate tent is employed for each tree, and the article 
shows illustrations of the tents in use. The Isle of Bines will produce better oranges 
than have ever been grown in California. Irrigation is not necessary as in California; 
by growing the different varieties the crop can be extended more nearly over the 
entire year, and can be marketed quicker and at one-half the expense of the Cali- 
fornia product. 

We claim further that the Isle of Pines will produce better tobacco than any known 
section on the globe, except a few favored localities in Cuba, and we claim and believe 
from recent investigations that our land with proper cultivation will produce as good 
tobacco as can be grown in Cuba. 

Further than that, we submit that if the quality of the Cuban article will justify 
the payment of the enormous import duty evidenced by monthly importations into 
the United States of both tobacco and cigars, that the Isle of Pines grower with an 
article equally as good and with absolutely no duty to pay has boundless opportuni- 
ties for profit. And it should be borne in mind that we have on our tract the best 
tobacco-producing land on the island. 

Last but not least we claim that the Isle of Pines is destined to be one of the greatest 
winter-vegetable growing sections in the universe. Even if it did not produce a sin- 
gle variety of the citrus fruits, it would still become a very rich agricultural com- 
munity. Nearly all garden products do well on the island, the quality is fine and 
more is grown to the acre than in the North, because the growing season is longer. 
In some cases two and three crops can be raised in a single year, while the most 
bountiful crops are harvested in the winter months beginning with November or 
December, giving the grower several months' advantage over the Southern States. 
Without presenting a table of figures as to the probable or possible profits per acre 
for the grower when cultivating the land under the conditions mentioned, we ask 
him to deduct the price he receives for his summer garden products raised in the 
North from the value of the same kind of products in midwinter and see if the mar- 
gin is not somewhat startling. We refer again to the subject of tomatoes. The 
growers in the North sell them to the canning factories at 15 or 20 cents per bushel 
and make a profit. If one will subtract this amount from the value of the same 
article in the month of January or February, he will feel like going into the business 
of raising tomatoes. 

OUR POSSESSIONS. 

We own the largest tract of land on the island. The quality is more uniformly 
good than any other of the large tracts. We have vast quantities of pine timber 
land, which will be of great value for lumber as the island is settled up, and will be 
of immediate value for the turpentine taken from the trees, an industry which will 
be begun at once. 

The accompanying timber-land scenes are only samples of the many hundreds of 
acres to be found on our lands; the smaller illustration shows a clump of second- 
growth pines, the timber having been cut off in 1880, the rapid growth indicating to 
the experienced fruit grower the right sort of soil. 

We own the best rivers, giving us facilities for an endless amount of good water 
power which will be utilized eventually to run trolley cars to all parts of the island 
and to furnish power for all kinds of manufacturing. 



ISLE OF PINES. 71 

We have 20,000 acres of land fenced with 7 galvanized barbed wires, all put up in 
a first-class manner. We have 2,000 acres cleared and ready for the plow. We 
have a large number of native houses and 150 tobacco barns already constructed. 
We own 11 good, well-built brick houses in Neuva Gerona, which will be the capital, 
and 600 acres adjoining the town site, 50 acres of which have been plotted into town 
lots. 

OUR INTENTIONS. 

We do not expect to make money by either the sale of stock in our company or by 
the sale of land. The stock in the Isle of Pines Company is all subscribed, fully 
paid, and there is no stock for sale by the company. We are not offering our lands 
for sale; we propose to develop the same, and we will place a large tract under cul- 
tivation in citrus fruits by our own employees, and we shall, in addition, endeavor 
to let a large tract to experienced growers on shares, the land to be divided at the 
end of five years. We are preparing a large nursery, and will do all in our power to 
assist those who take land from us, and we invite correspondence with that end in 
view. 



Banco Nactonal de Cuba (National Bank of Cuba), 

Habana, Cuba, September 21, 1901. 
Samuel M. Jarvis, Esq., 

Vice-President, National Bank of Cuba, New York City. 

Dear Mr. Jarvis: Mr. John C. Tichenor presented your letter of introduction, 
and in compliance with your request I gave him all the assistance possible in order 
to make his trip to the Isle of Pines a success. Mr. Tichenor desired me to obtain 
for him two good experts to accompany his party to the island, one for the tobacco 
and the other for citrus fruits and garden truck such as are raised in Florida. I 
knew of two good men, just the ones that could give him reliable information, and 
being entirely disinterested parties, they would naturally examine the soil and the 
situation from an unbiased point of view. I succeeded in getting these men to go 
with him, and after some ten days the party returned. 

Mr. Jeffords, who went to examine the soil with the view of planting oranges, 
grape fruit, etc., made me the following report: 

"I have examined the tract of land in the Island of Pines in the northwestern 
part of the island, and known as the Don Juan Acosta estate. I find the greater 
part in an unimproved state, and covered with yellow pine timber ranging in height 
from 50 to 90 feet and in diameter from 10 to 30 inches. There are some cultivated 
fields that have been growing crops that will compare well with the same crops in 
Cuba or Florida. The land is rolling and well drained and supplied with many 
springs and branches of good soft water. I found orange trees growing about each 
settlement, ranging in age from three to fifty years, all healthy and free from insects. 
This tract taken as a whole is the best I have found for growing tropical fruits and 
winter vegetables. It has a great advantage over Cuba, as the soil is free from clay 
and can be cultivated with a one-horse plow as it is done in the fruit belt in Florida. 
This land I found very much like the land about St. Leo and Dade City, in Pasco 
County, Fla." 

Mr. F. Bodriguez, the tobacco expert who went with the party, is a man of long 
experience in the raising of that leaf at Alquiza, in the famous "Tambadera" section 
of Cuba, and has spent many years in Pinar del Bio, or " Vuelta Abajo" section of 
tobacco culture, so that he is fully able to express an opinion upon the subject. 

Mr. Bodriguez stated that he had examined the tobacco on Isle of Pines and found 
a very good tobacco there, although late in the season after two cuttings had been 
taken from the fields. He also examined tobacco in the curing houses, and brought 
samples of same to Habana for the inspection of our chief tobacco expert at the 
tobacco exchange. All agree that the leaf grown on Isle of Pines is of good quality 
and compares favorably with tobacco grown in the Vuelta Abajo district of Cuba. 
They also stated that the parties who were growing the tobacco had not employed 
the latest methods of cultivating the leaf and consequently they considered that 
with proper men from Cuba who are expert growers a very good article can be raised 
which could be marketed at as good price as the best Cuban tobacco grown. 

Mr. Tichenor having determined upon the purchase of the tract of land mentioned, 
something over 60,000 acres, I introduced him to Major Buncie, to whom he also 
had a letter from you, and the Major has undertaken the examination of the titles, 
etc., and I have no doubt that these will be properly looked after. Mr. Tichenor 



72 ISLE OP PINES. 

has made the necessary deposit, the same to be held by us until the titles are all 
clear and arrangements completed. He goes to New York to-day and will carry this 
letter to you. 
Trusting that I have complied with your request in this matter, I remain, 
Yours, truly, 

Ramon N. Williams. 



War Department, 
Division of Insular Affairs, 

Washington, D. C. , November 13, 1901. 
Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt, by reference from the President, of your 
letter of November 6, 1901. 

In this connection permit me to express the appreciation of the 
Department for your courtesy in transmitting a copy of the pamphlet 
therewith inclosed. 

Very respectfully, J. G. Harbord, 

Assistant Chief of Division. 
Mr. J. C. Tichenor, 

President Isle of Pines Company, 

91 Fifth Avenue, New York City. 



War Department, Signal Office, 

Washington, February 26, 1902. 
My Dear Captain Edwards: The Insular Division desired to know 
some time since whether there was, as had been reported, cable com- 
munication between Cuba and the Isle of Pines. Capt. O. A. Nes- 
mith, signal officer, Department of Cuba, reports that there exists no 
cable communication between Cuba and the Isle of Pines. 
Very respectfully, 

A. W. Greely, 
Brigadier- General, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. Army. 

Capt. Clarence R. Edwards, 

Chief of the Insular Division. 



Milford, Ohio, November 18, 1901. 

Department of the Interior, 

Washington, D. C. 
Gentlemen: What have you in the way of maps and general infor- 
mation about the Isle of Pines, regarding soil, products raised, climate, 
fauna, etc. % Please give anything that you may have that prospective 
emigrants for that place would be pleased to know. 
With thanks, we are, yours, truly, 

The Milford Manufacturing Co., 
M. H. Soth, Secretary. 

Department of the Interior, 

November 21, 1901. 
Respectfully forwarded to the honorable the Secretary of War, and 
writer so informed. 

E. A. Hitchcock, Secretary. 



isle of pines. 73 

November 25, 1901. 
Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt, by reference from the honorable the Secre- 
tary of the Interior, of your letter of the 18th instant concerning the 
Isle of Pines. 

In reply, your attention is invited to this division's letter of the 22d 
instant, written in answer to a similar inquiry from you. 
Very respectfully, 

J. G. Harbord, 
Assistant Chief of Division. 
Mr.M. H. Soth, 

Secretary The Milford Manufacturing Company, 

Milford, Ohio. 



Habana, Cuba, November 22, 1901. 
Hon. Theodore Koosevelt, 

President, Washington, D. C. 

Sir: As one of a large number of American citizens who have 
recently purchased land and contemplate making their homes on the 
Isle of Pines, I beg to call your attention to a rumor to the effect that 
the Isle of Pines will be retained, temporarily at least, under Cuban 
control, after the island of Cuba has been turned over to the Cuban 
people. 

This rumor has thrown a damper over the enthusiasm of us who are 
investing thousands of dollars in the island, believing from the word- 
ing of the Piatt amendment, as well as the treaty of Paris, that the 
island was undoubted^ American territory. 

The island is capable of supporting a great many people and is very 
excellent property; in fact, one of the best for citrus fruits and win- 
ter vegetables in the West Indies; and we sincerely hope that our 
Government will retain it as a Territory of the United States, even if 
Cuba should ultimately become a State of the Union. We Americans 
would much prefer the Isle of Pines being a Territory than to be part 
of the State of Cuba, as we would have but little say in the State gov- 
ernment if Cuba should become a State. 

We, who know the Cubans, have but little hope of Cuba becoming 
a State of the Union very soon, at least bj r their own consent. 

We would be very glad, if practicable, if you would indicate to us 
what the future of the Isle of Pines is to be. 
Yours, respectfully, 

S. H. Pearct, 
Vice-President and Manager of the Isle of Pines Company. 



December 3, 1901. 

Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt, by reference from the President, of your 
letter of November 22, 1901, requesting that, if practicable, the future 
of the Isle of Pines be indicated to you. 

In reply you are advised that the determination of this question 



74 ISLE OF PINES. 

must await determination by the two Governments, in accordance 
with the following provision of the act approved March 2, 1901: 

That the Isle of Pines shall he omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries 
of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty. 

Very respectfully, 

J. G. Harbord, 

Assistant Chief of Division. 
Mr. S. H. Pearcy, 

Monte No. 9. Habana, Cuba. 



Des Moines, Iowa, January 5, 1902. 

James Wilson, Esq., 

/Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: I wish to get some information in regard to the Isle of 
Pines. 

1. Is the southern half good land for farming? 

2. Is there any land on the island suitable for coffee growing? 

3. What kind of timber is found there? 

4. Is there much pine timber ? 

Any information about the island as to soil, products, climate, etc., 
will be gratefully received. 

Mrs. J. W. Hollister, 

1001 Twentieth Street. 



Headquarters Military Governor Island of Cuba, 

Habana, January 27, 1902. 
Dear Mr. Secretary: Permit me to introduce to you Col. T. J. 
Keenan, of Pittsburg, Pa., a large land owner in the Isle of Pines, and 
one who has done much to improve and develop the island. 
Yours, sincerely, 

Leonard Wood. 
Hon. Elihu Root, 

Secretary of War. 



Nueva Gerona, Isle of Pines, January 25, 1902. 

Hon. Elihu Root, 

Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: At a meeting of the American residents and property 
holders of the Isle of Pines, held at the Isle of Pines Hotel in Nueva 
Gerona on Friday evening, January 24, the accompanying resolution 
was passed by a unanimous vote. 

The resolution was subsequently circulated as a general petition and 
signed, not only by those present, but by a large proportion of the 
native property holders of the island. 
Very respectfully, yours, 

Charles Raynard, Secretary. 
T. J. Keenan, Chairman. 



ISLE OF PINES. 75 

Whereas the treaty of Paris and the act of the United States Congress, commonly 
called the Piatt amendment, plainly foreshadow that the Isle of Pines, a territory at 
present within the jurisdiction of the War Department of the United States Govern- 
ment, is to become a permanent possession of the United States; and 

Whereas large investments in real estate and improvements upon the island have 
been made under these assurances of future ownership by the United States Govern- 
ment; and 

Whereas any period of transition from the present military government (with 
which we desire to express our entire satisfaction) to a permanent civil administra- 
tion must be a period of unrest and uncertainty; and 

Whereas it is our firm belief that as United States territory the Isle of Pines, with 
its exceptional advantages of soil, climate, and geographical location, will become 
one of the most favored and prosperous spots on earth, 

Resolved, That we, the undersigned property owners and residents on the Isle of 
Pines, representing, in our own persons or as authorized agents, the ownership of 
more than one-half the area of the Isle of Pines, respectfully petition that the formal 
acquisition of the island by the United States be accomplished as speedily as possi- 
ble; and we earnestly hope that whatever change in government such acquisition 
may involve may be a change in form only, and that the flag of the United States, 
which for more than three years has floated above our island, may never be hauled 
down. 

[Signed by 82 petitioners.] 



[Telegram.] 

Wak Department, March 13, 1902. 
Capt. J. Van Ness Philip, 

Care General Wood, Habana: 
Page proof Isle of Pines pamphlet in office. Have just completed 
index. Think wise to order final printing unless you have special 
information which is recent and wise to embody. Makes about 40 
pages. Let me hear from you. 

Edwards. 



[Telegram.] 

War Department, March 15, 1902. 

Capt. J. Van Ness Philip, 

Care General Wood, Habana: 
Please answer my telegram about Isle of Pines. Want to hurry it 
through press, as many inquiries are being made for it. Unless you 
have found out something in error or some additional important infor- 
mation to embody in it would like to get it printed at once. 

Edwards. 



[Cable message.] 

March 15, 1902— £48 p. m. 
Edwards, War Department, Washington: 

Isle of Pines manuscript all right except following: Only two towns, 
Nuevagerona and Santa Fe; only two highways, Nuevagerona to 
Santa Fe, and Santa Fe to Jucaro. The rest simply trails.^ American 
hotel and ice plant at Nuevagerona. See Hayes, United States geol- 
ogist, for geological. 

Philip. 



76 ISLE OF PIKES. 

The Isle of Pines (Caribbean Sea) — Its situation, physical features, 
inhabitants, resources, and industries. 

r<i * * * That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries of 
Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty." — Act of Congress, U. S., approved 
March %, 1901.] 

Capital, Nueva Gerona; latitude 21° 5V N., longitude 82° 40' W. 
(approx.). 

Area, 986 square miles. 

Population, United States census of 1899, 3,199; Spanish census 
of 1887, 1,992. 

Race, Spanish and colored. 

Language, Spanish. 

United States Military Department of Cuba, Headquarters, 
Habana. 

TABLE OP DISTANCES. 

Statute 
From Nueva Gerona— miles. 

To Batabano, NNE 65 

To Habana, N. by E., via Batabano 90 

To Miami, Fla., via Habana 238 

To New Orleans via Batabano and Habana 810 

To New Orleans by sea 828 

To Pensacola, Fla. , via Batabano and Habana 713 

To Pensacola by sea 783 

To Tampa, Fla. , via Batabano and Habana 350 

LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES. 

The Isle of Pines, also called Reina Arnalia, lies in a deep bight off 
the south coast of the western part of Cuba, between latitude 21° 24' 40" 
and 21° 56' N., and longitude 82° 30' and 83° 12' W. Its extreme 
northwest point (de los Barcos) is 30 nautical or 34| statute miles 
southeast of Punta de Carraguao (Pinar del Rio), the nearest land of 
Cuba. Its surrounding waters are the Caribbean Sea. 

The island lies 730 miles (statute) across the Caribbean Sea, north of 
Grey town entrance to the Nicaragua Canal; 850 miles north by west 
of Colon entrance to the Panama Canal; 230 miles east of the nearest 
coast of Yucatan, Mexico, and 370 miles northwest of Jamaica. It is 
protected from approach on the north by the coast of Cuba, and from 
all sides on the Caribbean Sea by the shallow channels and innumera- 
ble keys, which can be easily mined. The island, in a defensible point 
of view, can be made impregnable at a minimum outlay. 

The Cuban provincial name of the island is "Quitrin," on account 
of the resemblance of its outline to the body of a chaise (volante). 

AREA. 

It is 34 miles from north to south and 43 miles from east to west on 
a line with Point Frances. Its area is 986 square miles, or 631,040 
acres, including the Cienaga, but 99 square miles less than the land 
superfices of the State of Rhode Island, and within 264 square miles 
of its total of land and water. It is nearly equal in size to the com- 
bined area of the 1,360 other isles, islets, and keys which encircle 
Cuba. According to the " Derrotero de las Antillas" the island [its 
arable portions] is a square of 30 miles, if a narrow tongue which runs 



ISLE OF PINES. 77 

from its southwest corner 11 miles to the northwest is not considered. 
The greatest length is from northeast to southwest, 13 miles, and 
breadth at the center from east to west 32 miles, and in the south 13 
miles. 

PHYSICAL FEATURES. 

The island has a geological relation to the general chain of insular 
mainlands of the Antilles and is unlike the numerous low coral and 
sand formations known as keys and mangrove swamps scattered in 
such profusion off the coast. In genera] the surface is a plateau of 50 
to 100 feet above sea level, broken by ridges of hills or cliffs that pro- 
ject abruptly above the general surface. 

The two mountain ridges at the northern end reach an elevation of 
about 1,500 feet, and are composed of limestone and marble. The 
other ridges in the center are much lower, less precipitous, and formed 
of gray sandstone, red rock, and gravel, containing iron. 

The most remarkable summits are the Sierra de la Canada, 1,600 
feet high, with precipices 150 feet; Daguila, 1,500 feet high, from the 
summit of which may be had a view of the entire island; Sierra de 
Caballos, 1,071 feet high; Mount Casas, about 2 miles from the latter, 
composed of beautiful marbles of various colors, and Mount Cristales, 
of moderate height, its sides being covered abundantly with green 
rock crystals. 

The southern part, comprising about one-third of the entire area, is 
an impassable cienaga or salt bayou and lagoon, interspersed by islets 
and rocky ledges of locally known "dog-tooth" or coral rock and 
occupied by fishermen. There is a amall open lake on the south of the 
causeway, which connects with the higher ground. 

A chain of islets from its extreme east point, called the Islas de 
Mangles, extends in a northwesterly direction into the bight, which is 
filled with a number of small keys. From the southeastern shore at 
Piedras Point another chain of keys extends eastwardly to a point 
southwest of Cienfuegos. North of these lie the Jardines and Jardi- 
hillos banks, a very shallow body of water, so named on account of 
their verdure-strewn islets, in many of which springs of pure water 
bubble up from the deep. These banks and ke}^s, extending east and 
west like curtains from the island and the cienaga on the south of the 
mainland, form an impassable line of defense against attack from the 
Caribbean Sea. 

The whole island, with the exception of the rocky southern coast, is 
surrounded by mangrove swamps, with here and there a stretch of 
sandjr beach. 

The island has a number of rivers of excellent water, the more 
important of which emptying on the north coast are the Nuevas, com- 
posed of several mountain tributaries, 5 to 10 feet deep, and navigable 
4 or 5 miles; the Sierra de Casas, also composed of several mountain 
branches, near the mouth of which Nueva Gerona is situated, and 
accessible by vessels drawing 5 feet. On the northeast coast is the 
Santa Fe, formed of many streams, on the main one or which, navi- 
gable for small craft, the town of the same name is situated. On the 
east coast is the Guayabo. The cienaga or swamp on the south receives 
the mountain drainage through the outlets of nine streams. On the 
west coast are no streams of importance. 



78 ISLE OF PINES. 

RIVERS AND STREAMS. 

The drainage of the island is represented by the following- rivers 
and streams: 

Bernardino. — A rivulet tributary to the Santa Fe on the south. 

Callejon, Rio del. — Near the west coast; rises in the Sierra San 
Jose; flows north b}^ east past Santa Teresa and La Nuevas. Of the 
stream of the latter name it is the west tributary. 

Casas, Rio de Sierra. — Rises in the highlands of the north near 
Santa Rosalia. It flows north, passes Nueva Gerona, the capital, to 
which point it is navigable for the steamer which plies between the 
island and Batabano on the Cuban coast, and enters the sea about the 
center of the north coast of the island between Fnera and Barcos 
points. 

Cayamas. — A rivulet which, rising east of Asiento de Santa Fe and 
flowing northeast, is lost in the lagoons near the coast south of the 
mouth of the Santa Fe. 

Citerna. — The larger and western of the many tributaries of the 
Las Nuevas, rising in the Sierra de la Canada in the southwest of the 
island. 

Grande. — A small stream rising south of Sierra Seiba and emptying 
into the Cienaga on the south. 

Guayabo. — Rises in the vicinity of San Juan on the east, and flow- 
ing northeast empties into the sea south of Potrero Point, east coast. 

Indios, Rio de los. — Rises in the Sierra de la Canada, flows west 
past San Antonio, and empties into Siguaiiea Bay on its northeast shore, 
southeast of Majagua Point. 

Itabo. — A small stream emptying on the east shore of Siguanea Bay. 

Jagua, Rio de la. — Rises on thie south watershed of the Sierra de 
la Seiba, flows southeast into the Cienaga on the east between the Cayo 
de Piedras and Boca de la Cienaga. 

Mal Pais. — Rises on the east slopes of the same summit as the 
Neuvas and, flowing northeast, enters the Santa Fe at Jucaro, to which 
point the main stream is navigable. 

Medio, Rio del. — A tributary of the Rio de las Neuvas, entering 
that stream on its east shore near its mouth on the north coast. 

Nuevas, Rio de las. — The largest river on the island, rising in the 
same central summits which feed the Rio Mal Pais, Santa Fe, and 
Jagua. It receives its larger tributaries, Citerna, Callejon on the 
west, and Medio on the east, the latter near its mouth on the north 
coast east of Point de los Barcos. 

San Pedro. — Rises in the hills of that name near the southwest cen- 
ter and empties into the Boca de la Cienaga, in the northeast angle of 
Siguanea Bay. 

Santa Fe. — One of the most important streams, but not the largest, 
with many small tributaries; it rises about the center of the island and, 
flowing northeast, enters the bight between points Fuera and Potrero. 
On the main stream is situated the town of the same name and impor- 
tant thermal springs. (See "Thermal Springs/') It is also navigable 
to Jucaro (see). 

Santiago. — Rises between the Cerros del Aji and La Seiba and 
flows southeast, emptying into the Cienaga on the southeast near the 
Boca de la Cienaga. 

Siguanea, Rio de la. — Rises on the southern declivities of Sierra 



ISLE OF PINES. 79 

de la Canada and, flowing south, empties into the Cienaga mouth in 
the northeast angle of Siguanea Bay. 

Tinas, Arroya de las. — A rivulet rising south of hill of del Monte 
and empties into the Cienaga on the west. 

"The Universal Geography," by Elisee Reclus, Volume XVII, 
referring to the interesting physical characteristics of the island, says: 

Manzanillo Bay * * * . Farther on the Isle of Pines is connected with a 
labyrinth of reefs and islets, of which the best known are those of the Jardines Bank 
and the Jardinillos, forming a seaward prolongation of the Marsh of Zapata. In the 
Jardines, so named from verdure-clad islets strewn like "gardens" amid the blue 
waters, springs of fresh water bubble up from the deep, flowing probably in subter- 
ranean galleries from the mainland. 

The Isle de Pinos (Pinos Island or Isle of Pines) , which lies off the southwest 
coast of Cuba, is alone more extensive than all the other 1,300 isles and islets strewn 
around the Cuban seaboard. It consists in reality of two islands separated by a tor- 
tuous passage, half channel, half swamp, which winds at nearly uniform width for 
about 3 miles from west to east. This cienaga, or "marsh," as the Spaniards call it, 
is a riviere sal£e (salt river) analogous to that of Guadeloupe. 

Toward its eastern extremity a few rocky ledges flush with the water have been 
utilized to make a camino de piedra (stone causeway) between the two sections of 
the island. A great contrast is prescribed by these sections; that on the north is 
diversified with "sierras," groups of hills and isolated eminences, one of the sum- 
mits in the Sierra de la Canada rising to a height of 1,540 feet; but the southern sec- 
tion is everywhere low, although the swampy savannas and impassable quagmires 
are here and there interrupted by sharp rocks, intersected by fissures and pierced by 
seborucos or pits. 

This part of the island seems to have been upheaved in relatively recent times, for 
even within the historic period islets on the coast have been submerged in continuous 
land by the mangrove thickets spreading over the intervening straits and shallows. 

TOPOGRAPHY AND HYDROGRAPHY. 

According to the "Diccionario Enciclopedico Hispano Americano," 
volume 15, Barcelona, 1894, quoting the "Derrotero de las Antillas" — 

_ The island is divided by a swamp sometimes impassable in its southern por- 
tion, which is in general very low and marshy. Its northern portion, which is 
mountainous and contains many rivers which are navigable for vessels drawing 
from 8.3 to 9.3 feet, is entirely covered with thick woods, where good pine is 
found. The inhabitants engage in cattle raising, and most of them reside in Nueva 
Gerona, a small place situated in the northern portion, composed of guano and 
yagua huts. The island can be distinguished from a distance of 45 miles in the 
south by three mountains, of which the highest and western one, which belongs 
to the San Jose Sierra, although having three peaks, appears to be one until its 
meridian is passed to the west; and, according to the point whence one looks at 
it, it presents on the northern coast the Sierra de Caballos, which can be seen 30 
miles away. In the center is the Sierra de la Canada and the Siguanea hill, 
which, when approaching the west coast, may be seen at a distance of more than 30 
miles; and the peak of La Daguilla, nearer the eastern coast. Alejandro Helvecio 
Lanier, in his Geography of the Isle of Pines, says that the total area is 614.34 sq. 
marine miles, or 211,000 hectares (1 hectare=2,471 a.), of which the northern por- 
tion occupies 133,000 and the southern 78,000, taking the straits of Cayo de Piedra 
and the bed of every large creek as dividing points. Its greatest length is from the 
eastern extremity to French Cape (Frances) 16f- legal leagues, or 70# kilometers 
(43$ miles), and its greatest width on the meridian 76° V 2", 12| leagues, or 53| kilo- 
meters (33 miles). Its nearest point to the island of Cuba is distant 10f leagues 
(29 miles) from Barcos Point to the point of the Palacios River in a northwest direc- 
tion, and 24J leagues (66.3 miles) from the mouth of the river Sierra de Casas to 
Batabano. 

The northern portion of the island is covered with pine trees, and the ground is to 
a large extent sandy. Only on the banks of the rivers and around the mountains 
lands of good quality are to be found, good for the cultivation of anything and the 
growing of wood of all the species known in Cuba. The southern portion is per- 
fectly level and very little above sea level. It is covered with trees of all kinds, which 
grow among rugged and sharp stones called "seborucos," which render a passage 



80 ISLE OF PINES. 

through these thickets exceedingly difficult and the removal of the many useful 
woods almost impossible. 

The littoral, from the mouth of the Sierra de Casas River to the foot of the Columpo 
is very low, being at sea level at almost every point. Only near the edge is it about 
half a yard above. As far as 600 A^aras (1,666 feet) to the interior, it is continually over- 
flowed, not only because it is at sea level, but because it receives the waters from the 
plains and from various small creeks. All these low lands are covered with man- 
grove trees and lianas so dense that they are impassable. The banks of the Sierra de 
Casas Eiver are also covered with similar trees, especially the western one, as far as the 
town. The foot of the Columpo is composed entirely of stones and enormous rocks, 
which appear to have broken away from its summit. From the Columpo to the Punta 
de Piedra the coast is a stretch of fine white sand, slightly higher than that on the other 
side of the Columpo and much wider and cleaner. Forty varas (111 feet) from the 
edge the land gradually descends until it reaches sea level, the greater portion being 
overflown. Near the Columpo is situated a forest of high trees containing a number 
of useful woods. Piedra Cape is composed of rocks, and to the west, at a distance of 
442 varas (1,228 feet), is situated the Piedra del Indio, which is likewise a rock. 
From Piedra Cape the lands adjoining the coast continue low and marshy. These 
marshy lands contain various kinds of mangrove trees (mangles, prietos, and pata- 
banes) up to near the mouth of Simon Creek, where there are mangroves "de una." 
This creek forms, before emptying into the sea, a large lake, and inundates the sur- 
rounding land up to near the Bibijagua and the Morrillo. The shore of Los Fla- 
mencos is that which follows to the southwest of the Morrillo. It is separated from 
the leeward coast only by a strip 90 varas (252 feet) wide at its narrowest point. The 
other two points are formed by the ends of the Bibijagua Sierra. Between them lies 
a stretch of sand, and 50 varas (138 feet) from the coast the forest at the foot of the 
sierra begins. 

The coast from the Bibijagua Sierra goes in the same direction as the last named, 
but a little before Salinas Point there is a natural salt deposit 500 varas (1,472 feet) 
long. From the first to the third Salinas point the land next to the coast for a dis- 
tance of 25 varas (69 feet) is at sea level, but it forms large, clean salt pits, without 
any trees. These natural salt deposits, which it would be easy to work, increase in 
width to the west, forming large tracts. From here on these tracts are very large, 
and from the shores of the Cocodrilos to the mouth of the Santa Fe River the sea 
connects with them directly, being separated therefrom only by a narrow strip of 
mangrove trees. The place where these tracts are largest is at Point Fuera. 

From the mouth of the Santa Fe River to the Grande Estuary the entire coast 
consists of an impenetrable marsh. Thence to the eastern point it is possible to 
land only at the Caudal wharf and at the points of Rancho Viejo and Piedra. 
The mangrove thicket continues still farther to the south of the east point and 
reaches the point where the shore of the south coast begins, where a small hut 
is situated, built of guano by fishermen. From this point, called the "Rancheria 
of the east," begins a stretch of sand half a league long, which forms a shallow 
bay. At the end of this sandy stretch begins the stone coast, continuing as 
far as Seboruco Alto and Brava Point. Here the "Playa Larga" begins, which 
is composed entirely of sand. At the same point a swamp f of a league (2 
miles) wide begins, which stops at the head of the Guanal. It is an absolutely 
impenetrable marsh. The greatest distance between the coast and the swamp 
is 300 varas (834 feet) and the shortest 80 (240 feet). The elevation of this land 
above sea level is not more than 3 varas (8$ feet), as far as the point of Curazao, 
where the elevation is slightly higher, reaching 8 varas (22 feet) at Canoa Point, and 
continues at this elevation almost to the head of the Guanal, where it is barely 1 vara 
(33.384 inches). The water of this swamp is salty and not potable. Pure water can 
not be found at less than 400 varas (1,111 feet) leeward from Maracayero_ Point. This 
swamp contains two estuaries, by which it empties into the sea. The principal one is 
the Siguaneita. The second, which is very small, is located 120 varas (333J feet) to 
the north of Guanal Point. The entire Playa Larga, from Brava to Guanal Point, 
has a sandy bottom, with some stones, and 6 feet of water at its lowest depth. 

Half a mile south of Curazao Point is situated a bank even with the surface of the 
water. Eight hundred and fifty varas (236 feet) SSW. from the latter are situated 
two similar ones and some other lower ones. The rest of the stretch is unobstructed. 
The reefs and rocks begin at Brava Point, run to the southeast 1 mile as far as_ the 
quebrado (opening) of Barlovento, which are covered by 9 feet of water, continue 
south 700 varas (1,945 feet) and then WSW. as far as Guanal Cape, approaching the 
coast. In these reefs there are four openings which permit an entry into the Playa 
Larga. The first, already mentioned, 1 mile south of Brava Point; the second, oppo- 
site the Bay of Llimtete; the third, south of Curazao Point, and the fourth, the largest, 
is that of Guanal Cape, which is nearly 1 mile wide. 



ISLE OP PINES. 81 

From the mouth of Sierra de Casas River to Barcos Point the coast land is low and 
swampy, almost level with the sea. The trees in this swamp are mangroves, yanas, 
and patabanes, which extend as far as the water's edge, which is sandy. There are 
3 feet of water and a sandy bottom up to 50 yards of the edge. Barcos Point is an 
impassable mangrove thicket at sea level. At the end of the bay there is a small 
estuary which connects with the sea north of the point, but it is impossible to traverse 
it with any vessel unless it is dragged over the mud. This bay is surrounded with 
swamps. The marshy lands continue very nearly to the Capitan Estuary, where a 
sandy stretch begins and continues as far as the Pino Estuary, which has two mouths; 
that of the north 1 foot deep and 40 varas wide, the other SSE. of the latter about 
150 varas (416 feet), 3 feet deep, but narrow and hardly visible. On each side of the 
first estuary are swamps and lakes of salt water, which continue along the banks of 
the sea as far as Buena Vista Point and thence along the entire edge of the Bay of 
Siguanea, which begins at this point. The coast from said Buena Vista Point runs 
southeast to the mouth of the large swamp called Siguanea. Two and one-half miles 
distant is situated the Soldado Estuary, which is very small and the mouth of which 
is i of a league (0.675 mile) WSW. from the hill of the same name. Majagua Point 
is 4J miles from Buena Vista Point. 

Along the entire coast of the Bay of Siguanea no river but the Indios 
empties, which has a very small mouth. Further on we come to French Cape, 
or the small key called Cayuelo, there being a distance of 3J miles therefrom to 
Cocodrilo Point on the bay. The port called Frances (French) consists of the 
bay which lies between Pedernales Point and the small tongue of land of La 
Bancheria. SSW. of this point, 120 varas (133 feet) distant, there is a small 
key 24 varas (66 feet) from northeast to southwest and 70 (194 feet) from north 
to south. Between this small key and the land there is only 1 foot of water. 
This port has a fair capacity and sufficient water for merchant vessels; bu tvessels 
can not anchor at the entrance in 6 fathoms nor inside in 2, because the bottom is 
composed of large and rugged stones, with deep fissures, where the anchors would 
be lost. In the middle in 3 fathoms is a good sand and stone anchorage. The port 
is protected from the southeast, east, and northeast winds, but not from those coming 
from the third and fourth quadrants. This is one of the reasons which force an 
anchorage as far out as possible in order to facilitate an easy departure in case of 
being surprised by the last-named winds. Vessels of small draft may in such case 
seek refuge behind Cape French, where there are two arms, having a mud bottom, 
entering the same from the north, which is 8 feet deep. , 

The bay to the north of the Eancheria is closed on the west by reefs, and the 
passages in the latter have water sufficient only for small vessels, such as boats 
and canoes. Between the reefs and the coast there is an innumerable number 
of rocks beneath the surface of the water which make this region very difficult 
to navigate even for canoes, for which reason fishermen and guides living there 
have marked out the channels which lead to the Rancheria Point from this side. 
The edge of this bay and that of the north of La Vigia Point, as far as Cape 
Frances, is a sandy stretch. Fifteen varas (42 feet) from the water's edge the 
land is 3 varas (8 feet) above sea level, and from this point the elevation decreases 
until the swamp is reached, 120 to 150 varas (333 to 416 feet) distant. The 
southern beach or bank of La Rancheria or Port Frances is composed of quick- 
sands and of flat stones at the water's edge,, preventing the landing of vessels. 
At the end of this bank there are some rocks 3 varas (8 feet) high and 9 feet of 
water next to them with a stone bottom. One hundred varas_ (28 feet) NNE. 
of this point is situated a small cove with so little water that it is difficult for 
canoes even to enter it, the bottom being of stone. From _ this point to the 
northwest point of the key which forms Cape Frances, there is a distance of 3£ 
miles in a straight line in a direction running from southeast 18°. Two and 
three-fourths miles southeast 29° V 2" from Pedernales Point is situated Lugo 
Point, and \ mile north the cove of the same name. To the northwest there is 
a small bay which has a sandy shore, and southeast a high rock which extends 
to the center of the bay, where there are fishing banks. It has 3 feet of water 
and a sandy and stone bottom. At the end of the bay, north of Lugo Bay, there 
is another small bay, Ingles, \\ miles southeast of Pedernales Point. Two and 
one-half miles from Lugo Point is situated the Grande Bay; then follow the 
Caletones, Cocodrilo points and the bay of the same name. From French Cape to 
Cocodrilos, carey fishing is very good. Then follows Infierno Bay, north of which 
is a large lake; Jorobado Bay, where two creeks empty; Diablo Bay, 3 miles from 
the latter; Purgatorio and Carapachivey bays, the largest of all on the southern side 
of the island, with a mouth more than \ league (0.6479 mile). Finally, we come to 
Agustin Fol Bay. There is a distance of 4 miles from this bay to the head of the 
Guanal. 

S. Doc. 205, 59-1 6 



82 ISLE OF FIXES. 

The mountains of the Isle of Pines, by order of elevation, are: Canada, Daguilla, 
Caball os, Sierra Casas del Sur, Sierra Casas del Norte, San Pedro, del Monte, de la Seiba, 
Lacunagua, Mai Pais, Aji, La Manigua, San Jose (last hill in the south) , Sierra Pequena, 
Columpo, Bibijagua, etc. The Canada Sierra, the highest, is 1,653 feet above sea level 
and 1,335 feet on its base. The base is 1 league (2.7miles) long in a northwest to southeast 
direction. It is covered with pines up to the summit, which can be easily ascended on the 
north side; on the south there are high perpendicular cliffs. The Siguanea, Indios, and 
Cisterna rivers rise on this range. It is 5 leagues (13.5 miles) from the town of Nueva 
Gerona and 2f (7 miles) from Siguanea Bay. Daguilla is 1,476 feet above sea level 
and 1,290 upon its base. Its figure is that of a cone with the base £ league (1J miles) 
in diameter. The northern part is covered with woods halfway to the summit. In 
these woods may be found the Lagetia lintearia. The other parts of this range are cov- 
ered with pasture lands and its ascent on the south side is very difficult. The Caballos 
Sierra is 1,074 feet above sea level. The foot of the Sierra is 2,400 varas (about V s miles) 
from east to west from the Sierra de Casas River and 50varas(llJ feet) above sea level. 
This range is accessible only on the northwest side and on the southeast, there being 
perpendicular cliffs almost everywhere, especially on the west. It is entirely covered 
with Avoods, and on the east side good timber for ship and house building may be 
found. The trees which are most abundant on the east are the yayas, guairajes, 
robles, cedar, sabicues, etc. This sierra runs NNW. and SSE. and in this direction is 
3,163 castilian varas (1=0.914 U. S. yard) long, occupying a space of 12£ caballerias 
(416 acres ) . Marbles of various colors and qualities constitute part of this range. The 
Casas Sierras are two ranges running from north to south 1 league, being divided by 
a level and red stretch of land 350 varas (972 feet) wide. The western part of this 
valley is rather broken, some creeks being formed which empty into Muertos Creek. 
The Casas del Sur Sierra is 4,037 castilian varas (1=0.914 U. S. yard) from the town of 
Nueva Gerona. Its base has a length from north to south of 2,534 varas (586 feet) and 
a width from east to west of 1,192 (311 feet). Its elevation above sea level is 1,035 
feet. It is covered with trees of the same kind as are found on the Caballos Sierra. 
It is inaccessible on the north and northwest, but may easily be ascended on the 
south and east. On the north it has two cliffs, the sides of which are perpendicular. 
Between them there is a stretch of land containing about £ caballeria (17 acres) called 
"Los Hondones," which is entered by a very narrow neck. This place is naturally 
inclosed by high cliffs, the trees and vegetation being exuberant. The eastern cliff 
is 903 feet above sea level and 876 varas (2,433 feet) distant from the principal peak. 
That of the west is of the same height. The mass of the mountain is clayey, as is 
the Sierra de Caballos, and on the summit may be found an abundance of loose carbon- 
ate of lime. The Casas del Norte Sierra is 924 feet high, rising almost perpendic- 
ularly from level ground. It is inaccessible from almost every side. It consists of 
four peaks running from north to south. The first, on the north, is the lowest, and the 
height of the others increases progressively. Useful woods can be found at the foot 
of the mountain and halfway to the summit, but are not as abundant as on the other 
mountains referred to. At the foot of the mountain, on the southeast, there are in 
the rainy season some small lakes, formed by the water from the sierras and adjoin- 
ing plateaus. These lakes dry up after the rainy season is over. Of the other ele- 
vations of the island the only ones worthy of mention are the Sierra Pequena, south 
of that of Caballos, with good woods; the Columpo Sierra, consisting of six peaks 
and masses of blue and white marble, where there was an intention of establishing 
fortifications, commanding, as it does, the Columpo and Bibijagua lakes, and the 
Bibijagua Sierra, covered with woods to the summit; to the northwest of the latter 
is situated the morillo of Bibijagua. 

The principal and only navigable rivers of the island are the Santa Fe, Casas, and 
Nuevas. 

MINERAL SPRINGS. 

The mineral springs, for which the island has a world-wide reputa- 
tion, judged from official and individual certification as to curative 
properties and results of the waters, are remarkable, especially in pul- 
monary, rheumatic, and throat affections. 

A chemical analysis shows the waters to be impregnated with oxy- 
gen and carbonic-acid gases, chloride of sodium, sulphate of lime, car- 
bonate of lime, iron, magnesia, chloride of calcium, nitrate of lime, 
silex, and extractic organic matter. Temperature of water, 82° F. The 
regimen of treatment is two baths of a quarter of an hour each and 



ISLE OF PINES. 83 

four glasses, taken inwardly, per day. The baths are erected over the 
springs. The testimonials of the beneficial effects of bathing and 
drinking are numerous, among others being a case of bronchial trou- 
ble requiring caustic treatment of the throat which was cured in ten 
days and without a recurrence of the complaint. It is claimed that 
the waters rival Saratoga in the United States. 

CLIMATE. 

The climate is described as ''delicious, the air pure and balmy and, 
notwithstanding the island being surrounded by water, is considered 
dry. The winds coming from the sea and passing over the pine forests 
are gentle and invigorating." The year is divided into two seasons. 
During the wet (lluviosa), or summer, the rains begin early in June 
and last until October, seldom more than two hours in the afternoon, 
and are accompanied by thunder and lightning. The greatest rainfall 
is in May, June, and July, although there is no month entirety free 
from rain. During this wet season about two-thirds of the precipita- 
tion of the year is received. The day is usually clear until 10 a. m. , 
after which it is showery until night. The nights are clear. The 
hottest hours are from 10 to 12 a. m. About 2.30 p. m. the breeze 
(la virazon) blowing in from the sea moderates the temperature. At 
night the copious dews contribute to the luxuriance of vegetation. 

The dry season (seca), or winter, extends from October to June, 
with occasional visitations from November to February of los nortes 
(cold winds blowing from the north) lasting about forty-eight hours, 
when the temperature falls to 50, but is not as uncomfortable as the 
March winds in the States. This season is not entirely without pre- 
cipitation, the days of rain numbering about one-third of the wet 
season. The annual rainfall ranges from 50 to 52 inches, or less than 
on the Gulf coast of the States. The average rainy days is 10 in the 
month, and the average humidity for the year 75 per cent. 

The annual temperature of Habana, less than 90 miles in a straight 
line north, is, mean maximum 82^° to 84° F., mean minimum Tl°. 
The highest temperature on record is 100.6 and lowest 49.6°. The 
mean annual temperature is 75°. The heat is oppressive on account 
of the moisture. The prevailing winds of the Isle of Pines are the 
northeast trades, which blow with but little variation throughout the 
year, rendering the nights cool both in winter and summer. 

The range of temperature between summer and winter rarely exceeds 
a mean of 11°. 

Hurricanes are less frequent than in Cuba. In March, April, or 
May slight earthquakes are sometimes felt. The most damaging hur- 
ricanes occurred in 1774, 1844, 1846, 1865, 1870, 1876, 1885, and 1894, 
and earthquakes, especially in the eastern portion of the mainland, 
principally in Santiago de Cuba, in 1776, 1842, and 1852. 

The "Derrotero de las Antillas," referring to the climatic conditions, 
says: 

The climate of Pinos is among the healthiest known. No yellow fever, nor cholera, 
which in former years decimated the population of Cuba, ever made its appearance 
here. Although south of Cuba, its temperature is lower on account of the winds, 
which are always blowing. From all parts, from Cuba as well as from the United 
States, the sick come to be cured by the pure air and beneficial Avaters of its springs 
and creeks. 



84 ISLE OF PINES. 

BATS AND HARBORS. 

Cape Frances, at the extreme point of a rocky crescent-shaped 
peninsula extending into the ocean, forms the spacious bay and anchor- 
age of Siguanea on the southwest. A small key connected with the 
point is the home of numbers of enormous crocodiles {rliornbifer. 
Bibron) known under the Cuban name " caiman." Onthe shores of 
the point are found great quantities of rare and beautiful shells and 
coral. 

From this anchorage vessels drawing 20 feet can pass northward 
around the island as far as Nueva Gerona inside the keys that lie some 
6 miles off the coast. From Frances to Indian Point to the northeast 
it is 16 miles and trends inland 18 miles. The bay has a depth from If 
fathoms (10Jr feet) to 5i fathoms (33 feet.) The ship channel referred 
to is entirely protected from the seaward side of the Indian keys. 

Estero del Pino is an indentation in the extreme projection about 
the center of the western coast of the Isle of Pines, and is fed by a 
small stream which rises in the vicinity of San Jose, a village on the 
western slope of the sierra of the same name, and at the terminus of 
the trail extending from Nueva Gerona west to Santa Teresa and Las 
Nuevas, thence SSW. to San Jose. From this point a road is pro- 
jected along the western and southwestern base of Sierra de San Jose 
to Canada, in the sierra of that name, an important road center in the 
southwestern part of the island. 

The land in this vicinity conforms to the general topography of the 
country and has patches of soil suitable to the cultivation of the staples 
of the island. 

The estuary has two mouths — that on the north, 1 foot deep and 111 
feet wide, the other on the south, 3 feet deep and about 140 yards 
wide. In the vicinity, along the shore, are salt swamps and lakes. 

On the southern coast, which is rocky and dangerous, is the small 
harbor of Carapachivey, on a pathway on rocky ledges. 

On the northwest coast is the small shallow bay of Barcos and on 
the southeast coast the small bay of Cienaga. (See Topography.) 

The only two landings — Nueva Gerona, on the Rio Sierra de Casas, 
and Jucaro, on the Rio Sante Fe — are accessible to vessels drawing 5 
feet of water, owing to the shallowness of the bars at the river mouth. 
The directions referring to the anchorage of Puerto Frances are- 
intended for sailing vessels and based upon the idea that such vessels 
may have to get under way suddenly with an unfavorable wind. For 
other vessels a better anchorage is found in the bight north of Point 
Pedernales, with that point bearing S. 3° W. true and in from 5 to 9 
fathoms of water. This anchorage has been repeatedly occupied by 
United States vessels and found very satisfactory, the holding ground 
being found good all over this part of the bight. 

Carapachivey Cove, on the south coast, approximate position lati- 
tude 21° 26' 45" N., longitude 82° 55' 39" W., is of considerable size, 
affording a safe and commodious anchorage well sheltered to the north- 
ward between west-northwest and east-southeast and offering a con- 
venient refuge for vessels of any size from northerly gales. The 
bottom is of hard coral and holding ground is not good enough for 
strong onshore winds. The soundings range from 3 to 8 feet near the 
shore, 10 to 30 feet in the center, and from 30 to 75 feet at the entrance 
to the cove. 



ISLE OP PINES. 85 

The cove may be found by bringing the middle and largest of three 
prominent peaks in the interior of the Isle of Pines to bear about N. 8° 
30' E. true and standing in on this bearing. It may further be recog- 
nized by a large and conspicuous Cuban house on the northwestern 
side of the cove. This house is surrounded by cocoanut trees, and 
near it are five other cocoanut trees in a row. 

A good anchorage may be found with the Cuban house on the north- 
west side of the cove bearing about N. 17° W. true, and the eastern 
point of the cove S. 53° E. true. 

In the northeastern part of the cove is a small anchorage, marked by 
stakes, where fishing vessels find good shelter in 8 feet of water. 

The tides are reported to have a range of from 2 to 2i feet. 

No supplies of water can be had here. 

About 3 miles to the eastward of Carapachivey is another cove, 
closed b} 7 a chain of rocks, visible some distance offshore. 

A recent hydrographic examination shows that the line of reefs 
which extends along the whole southern border of the Jardines and 
Jardinillos makes a pronounced dip to the southward. In this longi- 
tude the reef is from 2 to 3 miles farther off the ca} r s than is indicated 
on existing charts. The cays are themselves about 3 miles farther 
south than charted. 

The reef as it recedes on either side of this section has rather more 
water and breaks less conspicuously, so that a vessel standing in from 
the southward upon this most advanced point of the reef, or observing 
it from that side, seems to have to do with an isolated reef. 

A large number of lines of soundings were run over an area some 
10 miles square extending east, west, and south of this point. There 
is no other shoal in the vicinity. 

The bank all along this part of the reef lies from i to f mile off the 
breakers, soundings beginning in 15 and 17 fathoms at the edge of the 
bank. The breakers can be plainly seen at a distance of several miles. 

COMMUNICATIONS. 

The United States railroad systems having terminals at south Atlantic 
and Gulf ports are in touch with the island via Habana as follows: 

Pennsylvania Railroad and southern connections via Tampa or Miami 
to Habana. 

Louisville and Nashville Railroad and steamers from Pensacola, also 
from New Orleans, and steamship line to Habana. 

From Habana south by railway, 25 miles, to Batabano, two hours; 
thence to Santa Fe and Nueva Gerona b}^ weekly steamer. The entire 
trip consumes about ten hours. Also weekly connections with other 
points on the south coast. 

Joint rates, concurred in by all the lines interested, are as follows; 

From New York or Philadelphia, Pa., Pennsylvania Railroad to 
Washington and via southern connections, Washington Southern Rail- 
way and Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad to Rich- 
mond; Atlantic Coast Line to Charleston and Plant System to Port 
Tampa, or Plant System to Jacksonville, and Florida East Coast Rail- 
way to Miami; Port Tampa or Miami via Peninsular and Occidental 
Steamship Company (single rate), $54.50. 

From Habana, Cuba, to Batabano by railroad, thence to Nueva 
Gerona, Isle of Pines, by steamer, $10.50 (gold); the rate from 
Washington to Habana, $54.50. 



86 



TSLE OF PINES. 



The Louisville and Nashville system affords through rail connections 
from Cincinnati, Louisville, or St. Louis to Pensacola, connecting 
with the Louisville and Nashville Steamship Company at Pensacola, 



Fla., or the steamship line from New Orleans, La. 
thence to Nueva Gerona via Batabano. 



to Habana, Cuba, 



TABLE OF DISTANCES. 



NUEVA GERONA, ISLE OF PINES, TO POINTS ON THE MAINLAND OK THE UNITED STATES. 

From Nueva Gerona to — 

Miles. 

54 

90 



Batabano, Cuba, water 

Habana via Batabano, water, 54 miles, rail, 36 iniles. 



Distance from Habana to points named in United States. 
[Add 90 miles distance from Nueva Gerona to Habana via Batabano.] 



From Habana to — 



UnitedStates. Dis- 
tance via Port 
Tampa. 



Rail. 



Water. 



UnitedStates. Dis- 
tance via New 
York. 



Rail. 



Water. 



Cuba. Distance 
by- 



Rail. 



Water. 



Atlanta, Ga 

Augusta, Me 

Baltimore, Md 

Batabano, Cuba 

Boston, Mass 

Buffalo, N. Y 

Charleston, S. C. a. . . 
Chattanooga, Tenn . 

Chicago, 111 

Cincinnati, Ohio 

Cleveland, Ohio 

Denver, Colo 

Des Moines, Iowa. . . 

Detroit, Mich 

Dyea, Alaska 

Indianapolis, Ind. . . 
Jacksonville, Fla . . 
Key West, Fla . 

Manila, P. I. <? 

Memphis, Tenn 

Miami, Fla 

Milwaukee, Wis 

Nashville, Tenn 

New York, N. Y. d . 

Ogden, Utah 

Omaha, Nebr. d 

Philadelphia, Pa . . 
Port Tampa, Fla . . . 

Portland, Oreg 

Richmond, Va 

San Antonio, Tex . . 
San Francisco, Cal. 

Savannah, Ga 

St. Louis, Mo 

St. Paul, Minn 

Washington, D. C 
Wilmington, Del. . . 



im; 



474 



337 
"337' 
'337' 



337 
337 
337 

'>337 
337 

r>337 

*>337 

337 

<-l,456 

rt337 
337 



337 



c*3,442 



442 
352 
3*9 
210 
744 
016 
126 



337 

337 

d337 

f*337 

337 

d337 



337 
337 
337 
337 
/337 
337 
337 
337 
337 



217 

411 
739 
847 
912 

757 
5S4 
937 
208 
662 
149 
S25 
995 



350 
350 



, 648 
,350 



738 



87 



240 



337 



a 738 miles direct by water. 

6 Via Atlanta, Ga. 

c Via Chicago, 111., and Seattle, Wash. 



d Via Jacksonville, Fla. 
e Via Nagasaki, Japan. 
/705 miles direct by water. 



The cienaga in the south is inaccessible except by footpath on the 
land side and by sail from Nueva Gerona. 



CABLE, TELEGRAPH, AND TELEPHONE. 

The nearest cable and telegraph station in communication with the 
United States is Batabano, 65 miles on the mainland of Cuba, reached 



ISLE OF PINES. 87 

by steamer. A telephone line connects Nueva Gerona and Santa Fe 
with a projected extension to Jucaro. 

ROADS AND TRAILS. 

Several roads or trails extend to all parts of the island, beginning 
at Nueva Gerona. One, south to Santa Fe, and thence continuing across 
the eastern end of Cienaga Lagoon, communicates with the south coast 
at Punta Brava; another, from Nueva Gerona, and still another from 
Santa Fe, unite and terminate on the northeastern shore of Siguanea 
Bay. From these main lines branch roads or trails extend to the vil- 
lages of the interior. 

The Sierra de los Cristales, or Crystal Hill, an elevated summit 
about the center of the island, 12 miles from Santa Fe, is reached over 
a good road through a wild but picturesque country alternating 
between beautiful meadows and pine forests. The sides of the hill are 
barren and rocky and without vegetation. From its summit may be 
seen Nueva Gerona to the north, the Sierras Daquilla and de la Canada 
screening the great swamps on the east and west, and over intervening 
hills and valleys the blue ocean stretching toward the Spanish Main 
of old. 

POPULATION AND TOWNS. 

The inhabitants of the island are Spanish and colored, and exhibit 
in their intercourse with strangers a dignified and kindly spirit. For 
many years the Isle of Pines was a penal colony for Cuban revolu- 
tionists. The language is Spanish. 

There are 114 city properties on record, valued at $22,800. 

The island has two towns and one port. 

Nueva Gerona (New Gerona). — This town, the capital and second 
town in size, lies on the left bank of the Sierra de las Casas River, 2 
miles above its mouth, on the north coast. It is advantageously situ- 
ated on a picturesque plateau, between the Caballos and Casas moun- 
tains, at the base of the latter, about 30 feet above the sea and the 
swamps at the mouth of the river. It is well drained and, exposed to 
the constant breezes from the sea, free from malarial influence. Its 
water comes from a magnesian spring, said to be very beneficial in 
cases of stomach trouble, and baths have been built into which water 
from the same spring is conducted. The town has an American hotel, 
an ice plant, and telephone connection with Santa Fe and a projected 
extension to Jucaro. 

Just outside of the town, on an open plateau, are the barracks, a 
large stone building with interior courts, capable of accommodating 
comfortably 200 American troops, and of affording shelter, if neces- 
sary, to double that numher. 

There is a wharf at the town at which the steamer from Batabano 
lands once a week; also a church. Population 1,000. In the taking 
of the American census of 1899 it was an important center of enumer- 
ation. It also is an American post-office. 

Santa Fe. — On both banks of the river of the same name, 15 miles 
SSE. of Nueva Gerona, of which it is officially a suburb (bario), and 
has an American post-office. There are some fine drives and walks in 
the vicinity. The country is somewhat flat in the neighborhood, and 
more rolling inland. The port of the town, Jucaro, is about 7 miles 



88 ISLE OF PINES. 

distant. Sante Fe is a place of 1,050 inhabitants, two hotels, a church, 
thermal baths of about blood temperature, medicinal springs of mag- 
nesia and iron, favorably known and patronized from Habana in the 
summer. A consulting surgeon under Spanish jurisdiction resided 
here for the benefit of invalids. 

In the United States census enumeration of the inhabitants in 1899 
this town was an important subdivision. 

Juoaro, the port of. Santa Fe, on the river of that name, at a dis- 
tance of 7 miles, is connected by a fine road. A steamer touches here 
once a week. The means of communication with Santa Fe is by the 
volante or ox cart. 

TOWNS, VILLAGES, AND HACIENDAS. 

In addition to these three important centers are twenty-six villages, 
or haciendas, scattered throughout the island, as follows: 

Acosta. — -A fishing village on the peninsula of Port Frances, near 
the west shore of Siguanea Bay, in the extreme southwest. 

Almacijos. — A village at the headwaters of the western tributary 
of the Santa Fe River west by south and a few miles above the town 
of that name. 

Asciento de Santa Fe.— A hamlet on a road southeast of the town 
and on the right bank of the river of that name. Thermal springs 
which line the bank of the stream are also found in this vicinity. 

Caleta Grande. — A hamlet on the Caribbean Sea or the southwest 
shore of the Fuerto Frances Peninsula. It was a subdivision of the 
census enumeration district of 1899. 

Canada. — A village at the base of the sierra of that name on the 
main road to Rosario and Nueva Gerona in the west part of the island. 

Carapachivey. — An isolated fishing village about the center of the 
salt lagoon on the south, reached from the highland by the rocky 
ledges which rise above the soft surrounding surface. 

Carboneras. — A subdivision of the census enumeration district of 
1899. 

Caudal. — A fishing village in the eastern part of the salt lagoon on 
the south, on the pathway from the highland to Punta Brava on the 
south coast. 

Cuchilla Alta. — A subdivision of the census enumeration district 
of 1899. 

Jorobado. — A fishing village in the salt marsh near the inlet of the 
same name on the south coast. 

Juoaro. — See "Population and towns." 

Hospital. — A hamlet in the sierra foothills about the center of the 
island between the Santiago and Jagua rivers. 

Laounagua. — A village at the forks of the Santa Fe and San Pedro 
road in the south central part of the highlands. 

Las Nuevas. — A village in the extreme northwest, near the coast, 
on the road midway between Nueva Gerona and San Jose. 

Nueva Gerona.— See " Population and towns." 

Llevat. — A fishing village near Cape Frances on the peninsula of 
that name on the west shore of Siguanea Bay in the southwest. 

Palma Alta. — A fishing village on the pathway across the eastern 
part of the Cienaga, between Caudal and Punta Braya, on the south 
coast. 



ISLE OF PINES. 89 

Rosario. — An important road center in the northwestern part near 
the right bank of the River del Callejon. 

San Jose". — On the west coast road near the head of a small stream 
entering the Estuary del Pino. It is surrounded by a fertile country. 

San Juan. — At the headwaters of a stream of the same name at the 
terminus of a road southeast from Santa Fe, near the coast. 

San Pedro. — On the stream of that name. It is an important road 
center in the southwest part of the island leading to the landing at 
Casimbas, on the east shore of Siguanea Bay. 

San Antonio. — On the right bank of the Rio de los Indios, near its 
mouth on the north coast. 

San Francisco de las Piedras. — About the center of the island 
at the junction of four roads from Nueva Gerona (north), Santa Fe 
(east by south), Lacunagua (south), Canada (southwest), and Las Nuevas 
(northwest). 

Santa Fe. — See "Population and towns." 

Santa Rita de la Jagua. — On the borders of the Cienaga at the 
forks of the main Punta Brava road, across the salt lagoon to Santa Fe 
(northeast) and San Pedro (west). 

Santa Rosalia. — In the north central part, on the road between 
Santa Fe and Nueva Gerona, nearer the latter point. 

Santa Teresa. — In the northwest, on the road from Nueva Gerona 
to Las Nuevas, about a mile east of the latter. 

Seiba. — About the center of the island, at the base of the sierra of 
that name, near the junction of the San Francisco de las Piedras and 
Lacunagua .roads to Santa Fe. 

Sierra de Caballos. — A hamlet in the hills of that name in the 
extreme northeast, and a subdivision in the census enumeration dis- 
trict of the island. 

Sierra de Casas. — A hamlet in the north at the junction of the 
San Francisco de las Piedras and Las Nuevas roads to San Gerona, 
and a subdivision in the census enumeration district of 1899. 

CENSUS. 

The report of the census of Cuba, 1899, War Department, office 
Director Census of Cuba, gives the following results with respect 
to the Isle of Pines, a municipal district of the Province of Habana: 

Total Spanish enumeration December 31, 1887 2, 040 

Total United States enumeration, 1899 3, 199 

Total gain 12 years 1, 159 

By wards and by cities, 1899, Isle of Pines district: 

Calete Grande 315 

Sante Fe 1, 050 

Remainder of district 1, 834 

Total 3, 199 

Rural population, with area and density, by municipal districts: 

Rural population 3, 199 

Area in square miles (986 square miles, Div. I. A., 1902) r . 840 

Density per square mile (3.24, Div. I. A., 1902) 3.8 



90 isle or PINES. 

Sex, general, nativity and color, all classes:- 

Male 1,782 

Female 1,417 

Total 3,199 

Native white: 

Male 1,309 

Female 1,171 

Total 2,480 

Foreign white: 

Male 185 

Female 13 

Total 198 

Percentage of population by sex, general nativity, and color: 
Sex- 
Male 55.7 

Female 44. 3 

Nativity and color — 

Native whites 77. 5 

Foreign whites 6. 2 

Colored 16.3 

Age and sex : 

Under 5 years — 

Male 1... 195 

Female 158 

5 to 17 years — 

Male 547 

Female ■ 528 

18 to 20 years — 

Male 106 

Female 97 

21 to 44 years — 

Male 671 

Female 473 

45 years and over — 

Male 263 

Female 161 

Total 3,199 

Birthplace: 

Cuba _. 2,990 

Spain 195 

Other countries 14 

Total 3,199 

Citizenship: 

Cuban 2,818 

Spanish 32 

In suspense 334 

Other citizenship 15 

Total 3,199 



ISLE OF PINES. 91 

Males 21 years of age and over, according to citizenship, literacy and education: 
Whites born in Cuba — 
Cuban citizenship — 

Can neither read nor write 316 

Can read but not write 2 

Can read and write 283 

With superior education 13 

Spanish citizenship, can read and write 2 

Citizenship in suspense, can read and write - 1 

Total 617 

Whites born in Spain — 
Spanish citizenship — 

Can neither read r or write 1 

Can read and write 6 

With superior education 1 

Citizenship in suspense — 

Can neither read nor write 47 

Can read but not write 2 

Can read and write 103 

With superior education 4 

Total 164 

Whites born in other countries — 

Foreign and unknown citizenship — 

Can neither read nor write 2 

Can read and write 1 

Total 3 

Colored — 

Can neither read nor write 110 

Can read but can not write . 2 

Can read and write 33 

Foreign and unknown citizenship, can neither read nor write 5 

Total 150 

Conjugal condition: 

Single 2,184 

Married .-. 774 

Living together as husband and wife bv mutual consent 56 

Widowed 184 

Unknown 1 

Total 3,199 

School attendance, literary and superior education: 
Under 10 years of age — 

Attended school 38 

Did not attend school 784 

Ten years of age and over — 

Attended school 37 

Can neither read nor write 1, 343 

Can read but can not write 42 

Can read and write 954 

Not stated 1 

Superior education — 

Yes 22 

No 3,177 

Total 3,199 



92 



ISLE OF PINES. 



OCCUPATIONS, CENSUS OF 1899. 





Total 
popula- 
tion. 


Agricul- 
ture, fish- 
eries, and 

mining. 


Trade 
and 
transpor- 
tation. 


Manufac- 
ture and 
mechan- 
ical in- 
dustries. 


Pro- 
fessional 
service. 


Domestic 

and 
personal 
service. 


Without 
gainful 
occupa- 
tion. 


Total 


3,199 


403 


140 


84 


9 


647 


1,916 






1,782 
1,417 


403 


138 
2 


84 


7 
2 


614 
33 


536 




1,380 








2,480 


255 


78 


57 


6 


468 


1,616 






1,309 
1,171 


255 


77 
1 


57 


5 
1 


464 
4 


451 




1,165 








198 


52 


49 


12 


3 


61 


21 








185 
13 


52 


48 
1 


12 


2 
1 


60 
1 


11 




10 












521 


96 


13 


15 




118 


279 










288 
233 


96 


13 


15 




90 

28 


74 






205 















Number and size of families: 

Total population 3, 199 

Total number of families 572 

Average size, 5.6 persons to a family; of 1 person, 34; 2, 53; 3, 84; 4, 82; 
5, 77; 6, 64; 7, 39; 8, 39; 9, 36; 10, 25; 11 to 15, 30; 16 to 20, 6; 21 and 
over, 3. 

Dwellings and families: 

Unoccupied buildings 48 

Occupied dwellings 546 

Number of families 572 

Persons to a family 5. 6 

Persons to a dwelling 5. 9 

Families to a dwelling 1 

Disposition of excreta: 

Occupied dwellings _ 546 

Cesspool 211 

Sewer 4 

None .... 319 

Not stated 11 

Agriculture: 

Farm areas, in caballerias (33J U. S. acres = 1 caballeria). 

Number of farms 94 

Total area 7,030.96 

Area in cultivation, 1899 25. 69 

Area cultivated in 1895 14. 72 

Large timber 1, 233. 31 

Small timber __.-........ 93.06 

DEPENDENT ISLANDS. 

The eastern, northern, and western shores of the island are sur- 
rounded by a number of keys, through which the mainland may be 
approached by means of intricate passages only known to the local 
pilots. Although the waters off the cienaga on ihe south are clear of 
these coral and sand formations, the cienaga itself is an impassable 
barrier except by a single causeway to access from that direction. 

Piedras, Cato de. — A key separating the cienagas (salt lagoons) 
on the east and west and the line of the causeway between the highland 
and Punta Brava. 

AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES. 

Of the land lying north of the cienaga, the swamp and low ground 
with mangroves is estimated at 25 per cent; the savannas covered with 



ISLE OF PINES. 93 

these mangroves and scrub palmetto at 25 per cent; land of doubtful 
agricultural value, 10 per cent; rich land, 10 per cent; mountains and 
steep hills, 5 per cent; pine lands unsuitable for agriculture, 25 per cent. 

Of the land denominated rich, a very small percentage is actually 
under cultivation, but the nature of the growth upon it shows the 
value of the soil. Of the entire surface of the island, but 1 per cent 
is now under cultivation, viz: 117 caballerias, or 3,900 acres (1 caba- 
lleria — 33i U. S. acres), in a total of 14,117 caballerias. 

As an example of the wonderful variety of product, a tinea or farm 
of less than 33 acres actual cultivation produces coffee, sugar, choco- 
late (cocoa), cocoanuts, plantains, bananas, boniatos (sweet potatoes), 
yuca (cassava) (furnishing laundry starch), malangoes (answering for 
potatoes), rice, beans, lettuce, tobacco, honey, fowls, pigs, and cattle; 
also a few pineapples for home use. 

The rich arable land of the island is not found in large tracts, but in 
scattered patches among the hills — suitable for tobacco rather than for 
sugar plantations. 

The demand for consumption in the island is small, and the freight 
rates to the mainland high; hence the only agricultural product that 
finds a ready market and commands cash is tobacco. 

Of this staple the island exported in 1899 about 5,000 bales (of 
100 pounds each). In 1900 the product was less, as the workers 
who had come from Cuba, to escape the war, returned to their old 
homes, where the reputation of the leaf, if not its actual superi- 
ority, gives the laborer who cultivates on shares a larger return for 
his work. Tobacco from this island sells in Habana at the highest 
market rates. The cultivation of sugar in 1900 was confined to a sin- 
gle estate. 

VEGETABLE PRODUCTS. 

In addition to tobacco, the staple of the island, the following vege- 
table products are raised: Boniato, or sweet potato, which has a par- 
ticularly fine flavor, and, with reduced rates to Cuba, should become a 
marketable product; cocoa (chocolate), raised only experimentally, 
but the fruit appears to be fine; cocoanuts yield abundantly, though 
few trees have been planted. This could easily become an article of 
export. 

Coffee has so far been raised only for experiment, but the quality 
seems to be fair, and with cultivators who understand the work good 
results might be obtained. Manga (answering as potato) is grown 
without irrigation and yields well, fine quality. Rice also grows well 
without irrigation. Sugar cane at present raised in the island is for 
home use only; the juice is extracted by a crude wooden mill and 
boiled down in a large open kettle, making a dark, coarse sugar unfit 
for export. Yuca (used for starch) grows without irrigation and yields 
well. The Indian corn (maize) also flourishes. About 112 estates on 
the island are mostly devoted to tobacco raising. Of some products 
two crops are grown. 

The climate tropical and the soil a mixture of rich loam and sand 
present conditions suitable not only for the cultivation of all the 
products of that zone, but in addition to tobacco, coffee, and sugar 
cane is mentioned rubber. 

The mainland of Mexico and Central America, almost in sight, pro- 
duces some of the best rubber in the world. The conditions of soil 



94 ISLE OF PINES. 

and climate on the Isle of Pines being the same, it is claimed, should 
make rubber production a profitable industry. The growth of gutta- 
percha, which is generally found in the same zone, would also make a 
particularly valuable addition to the productive wealth of the island. 
For the production of gutta-percha Holland, Great Britain, and 
France have established extensive plantations and nurseries in their 
tropical possessions. 

MINERALS. 

The only mineral product of importance is the marble, which is 
found in the two mountains east and west of New Gerona on the north 
coast. It was worked extensively about thirty years ago, the ruins 
of a steam plant for sawing and polishing the slabs showing that much 
money was put into the enterprise. It is said that for reasons of its 
own the government looked with disfavor on the enterprise, and to dis- 
courage it levied a duty upon the sand used in sawing, which was 
hauled from the shore a mile from the quarry. This imposition 
killed the enterprise. About twelve years ago a few cargoes of mar- 
ble blocks were gotten out and shipped to Habana to be sawed up and 
worked there. Since then nothing has been done. The marble is of 
good quality, ranging from a good white statuary, through various 
shades of blue-veined stone to marble of a dark gray, also specimens 
with pinkish coloring. There are in the island no samples of very 
brilliant polish, but, judging from the crystallization of some of the 
blocks, good results should be obtainable with proper methods. The 
rock crystals gathered on the hill of that name are much prized by 
casual visitors. 

The quality of the marble is reported by experts to be suitable for 
the finest statuary, the color being the purest white. Other varieties 
of different hues are suitable for ornamentation and art, as they take 
on an excellent polish. The stone is free from cracks and will furnish 
slabs of any size, the deposits varying from 5 to 25 feet in thickness. 
The} 7 are also situated to meet all requirements of convenient and eco- 
nomical transportation to points of shipment on the coast. 

The old workings have done little but step the surface Of a cliff of 
weather-worn rock. The amount of material in sight is unlimited. The 
old works have a most advantageous location, where a short haul over 
a good road leads to an old pier. 

A good quality of brick clay is found in>the island. At New Gerona 
are the ruins of an extensive brickyard whence bricks, flooring, tiles, 
and roofing tiles were formerly shipped to Habana. Silver and iron 
are also reported. 

A salt deposit 1,472 feet long lies near Salinas Point. From this to 
the third Salinas Point the land forms large clean salt pits, without 
trees, easy to work, and which increase in width for some distance. 

FOTCESTS. 

The flora of the island combines many of the varieties of Florida with 
the large hard-wood trees of Central America and Mexico, and singu- 
larly the pine, a characteristic of the temperate zone, which grows 
over the greater part of the island. 

In the forests of this promising little isle of the Antilles are found 
extensive groves of the Oreodoxa regio (royal palm) and twenty-six 



ISLE OF PINES. 95 

other varieties of the same numerous family — the mahogany, lignum- 
vit*e, coco wood, from which reed instruments are made; cedrela 
odorata, used in the manufacture of cigar boxes and the lining of cabi- 
net woods; also producing an aromatic oil distilled from its wood; and 
fustic or logwood, a dyestuff the product of cholophora, known as 
yellow or Cuba wood or old fustic. 

In the swamps on the southern side of the island, accessible only by 
sea, are found all the mahogany and most of the other valuable woods 
on the island. 

Reclus in his "Universal Geography," Volume XVII, says: "All 
the large trees of the Mexican coast, so remarkable for their majestic 
growth, for the beauty of their foliage, the splendor and fragrance of 
their flowers, reappear on the Cuba seaboard. Over thirty species of 
palms are here met in association with trees such as the pine, which 
would seem so characteristic of the temperate zone and which gives 
its name to the "Pinos" Island, where it is found intermingled with 
palms and mahogany." 

The indigenous trees of the Tropics are found side by side with the 
wild pine from which the island takes its name. 

There are at present two small steam sawmills in the island, one in 
actual running order. There is a large area of pine forests, but the 
logs large enough for sawing are found only in small stretches west of 
the center of the island. The tall pines furnish for exportation rail- 
way ties, telegraph poles, poles for the roofs of native Cuban huts, 
and for hanging tobacco during the curing process. 

There are no statistics available from which the amount and the 
quality of the hard woods on the southern part of the island can be 
estimated. 

There appears to have been no very regular trade. While much fine 
wood exists it is not of sufficient size and in sufficient quantity to war- 
rant the expense of getting it to the water, over the difficult rocky 
ground in which it grows. The most accessible localities have already 
been culled, and it is said that to take out the best timber portable 
railways will have to be used. After the date of the approval of the 
estimate for forests, 1900-01, the military governor of Cuba created 
the office of "inspector of forests for the Isle of Pines." 

One of the principal sources of wealth is lumber, eleven forest 
grants having been made in the year 1900. 

FEUITS. 

The cultivated and wild fruits are celebrated for their quality and 
grow abundantly, as follows: 

Aguacate (alligator pear), one of the most popular fruits in the 
Antilles, pear shaped, of green or purple, and often weighs as high as 
2 pounds. On account of the pulp being firm and marrow-like it is 
also known as vegetable marrow or midshipman's butter. A very good 
oil for soap comes from its seed. The tree is an evergreen about 25 
or 30 feet high. 

Banana (platano). — Many varieties of this well-known fruit exist 
and take the place of bread in all country families, being eaten raw or 
cooked in many different ways. 

Caimito. — Some are purple on the outside and others dark green. 
Inside it has a milky fibrous meat, quite sweet and starchy, and a num- 
ber of round black seeds. It grows on a tree. 



96 ISLE OF PINES. 

Chieimoya (cherimoyer, or custard apple). — A heart-shaped fruit, 
quite sweet, with a slightly acid taste and very refreshing. It has a 
scaly exterior and contains numerous seeds buried in a pulp. It is 
sometimes known as bullock's heart, on account of its size and shape. 
It grows on trees about 25 or 30 feet high. 

Cocoanut (cocoa). — Fruits in bunches of from 12 to 20 on a tree 
from 60 to 90 feet high. The nut when fresh contains nearly 1 quart 
of milk, very much esteemed by the natives as a refreshment. The 
thick rind or husk surrounding the nut is used in making cordage, 
matting, brushes, bags, etc. A valuable oil is obtained from the nut, 
which is well known to commerce. 

Figs (higos) of all kinds grow luxuriantly. 

Granadilla. — A fruit grown on a vine which also bears the passion 
flower. It is generally as large as a child's head. It is very much 
liked by the natives, who use it in making refreshments and desserts. 
The meat is glutinous and contains many small seeds. 

Guanabana. — A large fruit about the size of a muskmelon with 
many seeds and fibrous meat having a delicate flavor. Used for mak- 
ing refreshments, ices, and preserves. Also eaten in its natural state. 

Guava. — A black, globose, pulpy fruit with an agreeable acid flavor, 
used in making jelly, marmalade, etc. It is largely cultivated in tropi- 
cal countries, there being two varieties, the red or apple-shaped and 
the white or pear-shaped. 

Lima. — Something like a lime, and has the flavor of the grape. 

Lime (limon) or citrus, resembling a lemon, but smaller; the product 
of the citrus limelta tree. The juice is used in cooling beverages in 
the Tropics, and is especially in demand in summer in higher latitudes. 
It is also boiled and used in fevers. 

Mammee-Sapota. — A tree that yields a fruit the juice of which 
resembles marmalade. It is known locally as the "mamey Colorado." 

Mamoncillo grows in clusters; it is a species of plum, tart, and has 
one fibrous pit. 

Mango. — A fruit shaped somewhat like a pear, but attached to the 
tree by the larger end. The meat is fibrous and clings to the seed the 
same as happens with a clingstone peach. It is generally eaten in its 
natural state, but when green is sometimes boiled as a vegetable. Its 
flavor, when ripe, is a combination of apricot and pineapple. There 
are several varieties of this fruit. The tree is 30 or 35 feet high. 

Maranon. — Similar to a persimmon, heartshaped, and has a heart- 
shaped seed on the outside which is roasted and eaten as a chestnut. 

Oranges. — This fruit of commerce in fine varieties grows abun- 
dantly, both cultivated and wild. 

Papaya (paw-paw). — About 10 inches long, commonly of an oblong 
form, ribbed, and having a thick, fleshy rind. It is eaten raw, or when 
green is boiled as a vegetable and is also pickled. The tree is about 
20 feet high and has large leaves. Meat boiled with a small portion of 
the leaf is made tender, or this can be done by simply hanging the 
meat among the leaves. The seeds are used as a vermifuge. 

Pineapple (pina). — Several varieties of this fruit grow in the island, 
and with proper cultivation may be a valuable product. 

Sapodillo (plum).— Small brown fruit with a black seed like a 
watermelon, and juice which disappears with incipient decay, when 
the fruit becomes very sugary. 



ISLE OF PINES. 97 

INDUSTRIES. 

The mechanical industries are tobacco manufacturing, quarrying, 
weaving for home consumption, cutting and sawing lumber and working 
into poles and railroad ties, and charcoal burning; also forest products, 
turpentine, pitch, and tar. Recent returns give 54 industrial and com- 
mercial establishments. 

Other industries are fishing, the shallow adjacent waters abounding 
in fine marketable fish, lobsters, and turtles. 

The raising of horses, which are small but hardy and good road- 
sters, and cattle, much depleted as to numbers at the outbreak of the 
war, is an important occupation, the valleys and hillsides being cov- 
ered with nutritious grasses. Pigs are also raised in large numbers, 
the wild fruits and seeds furnishing abundant food. At the close of 
1899 there were 4,164 horned cattle, 1,231 horses, 144 mules, and 
3,396 hogs and goats. 

Among the various American enterprises may be mentioned a new 
hotel, an ice plant, a dentist's office, a grocery establishment, black- 
smith shop, turpentine plant, and orange growing and truck gardening 
for United States markets. Prospectors interested in other occupa- 
tions are also looking over the ground. 

FAUNA. 

There are no wild animals which might be classed as game on the 
land. The iguana furnishes some fine specimens. The species of 
reptiles are few and none of them venomous. 

Bird life is chiefly represented by the parrot. There are 200 
varieties of all species. The surrounding waters teem with fish, the 
red snapper being one of the best; TOO varieties known to science. **"" 

The manati, or sea cow, abounds in the waters along the coast. 

COMMERCE. 

The exports are tobacco, charcoal, lumber, poles, railway ties, tor- 
toise shells, fruits, and parrotts, which exist in large numbers. 

The nearest port of entry under the customs system of Cuba is 
Batabano. That town, on the south coast of Habana Province, has a 
safe port, well sheltered. 

The statistics of exports and imports of the Isle of Pines are not 
given separately, but are included in the general tables of the entry 
district. 

COINAGE, WEIGHTS, AND MEASURES. 

The value of foreign coins, as expressed in the money of account of 
the United States, is based on the pure metal of such coin of standard 
value. > The standard of the Isle of Pines, taken from the island of 
Cuba, is gold and silver, and the monetary unit the peso. 

Coins: 

Doubloon Dollars, U. S.. 5.017 

Peso (silver) do 0.600 

Peso (gold) do.... 0.926 

"Weights: 

Arroba Pounds, U. S.. 25.3664 

Libra do 1.0161 

Quintal do 101.6100 

S. Doc. 205, 59-1 7 



98 ISLE OF PINES. 

Measures: 

Dry— 

Fanaga - Bushels, U. S.. 1.599 

Liquid — 

Arroba Gallons, U. S.. 4.263 

Linear — 

Cuerda, 81 varas Feet, U. S.. 23f 

Legua Stat, miles, U. S.. 2.672+ ■ 

Vara Inches, U. S.. 33.384 

Square — 

Caballeria Oordels. . 576 

Caballeria Acres, U. S.. 33£ 

Oordel Sq. yards, IT. S.. 495.40 

Legua Acres . . 4. 633 

Cubic — 

Cuerda (cord) Feet, U. S.. 128 

CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

The island was discovered by Columbus in 1494, who named it "La 
Evangelista." In the administration of Cuba it became a dependency 
of Habana, of which province it is a municipality (district). 

It constitutes an ayuntamiento or municipal district of the judicial 
district of Bejucal, province of Habana, instituted in 1880, with its 
seat at Nueva Gerona. It was reorganized in July, 1899, under United 
States military control. 

The ayuntamiento owns two city properties, a bathing establishment, 
8i caballerias (283 acres) of land formerly held by the government, 
and the cemetery of Nueva Gerona, the value of which is estimated at 
$8,353. 

In June, 1900, there were eight schools with 155 scholars on the island. 

POLITICAL STATUS. 

The definition of the status of the Isle of Pines in adjustment of 
the relations between the United States and Cuba is contained in 
that portion of the act making appropriation for the support of the 
Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1902, approved March 2, 
1901 (U. S. Stats. L., 56th Cong., 1899-1901, vol. 31, pp. 897-8), which 
provided that "in the fulfillment of the declaration contained in 
the joint resolution of Congress April 20, 1898, for the recognition 
of the independence of the people of Cuba, leaving the government 
and control of the island to its people," no action shall be taken 
until "a government shall have been established in said island 
under a constitution which either as a part thereof or in an ordinance 
appended thereto shall define the future relations of the United States 
with Cuba substantially" under the following heads: I. Conditions of 
Treaties; II. Public debt; III. Intervention by the United States; IV. 
Acts of United States during military occupancy ratified; V. Sanitary 
measures; VI. Isle of Pines to be omitted from the proposed constitu- 
tional boundaries of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjust- 
ment by treaty; VII. Coaling stations; VIII. By way of further assur- 
ance the foregoing to be made part of a treaty. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

Among the historical events off the island was the attack by a 
Spanish fleet of the expedition under the celebrated British admiral, 



ISLE OF PINES. 99 

Drake, in the sixteenth century returning from Costa Rica. The 
Englishman, after a desperate encounter against great odds, managed 
to escape with the loss of one vessel. 

This island in the days of the buccaneers was the headquarters of the 
pirates in their forays upon the islands of the Antilles and the Spanish 
Main. 

PUBLIC LAND, TAXES, AND DUES. 

A report by the collector of customs at Batabano to the chief at 
Habana, February 22, 1899, gives the following particulars on public 
lands, former taxes, and dues: 

The only land belonging to the State is embraced in 63 lots, each 
about 50 acres, scattered within 3 miles of Nueva Gerona. These lots 
appear to have been left after the land had been picked over, as they 
are generally in the worst localities and practical^ worthless, contain- 
ing nothing but mangrove scrub, dwarf palmettos, and thin pine grass. 
A few of the better lots are in use as small farms, the occupants pay- 
ing, it is alleged, a nominal rent to the hacienda at Habana. (No rec- 
ords on this point exist in the island.) 

No record of dues paid to the Crown for the privilege of exporting 
timber can be found. It is understood that contributions were 
arbitrarily levied from time to time by the military governor of the 
island. These "contributions" or "gratifications" were paid, it is 
said, to secure immunity from official obstruction in the going and 
coming of vessels from the inaccessible points at which the lumber 
was gathered. It is presumable that some of these contributions were 
used for the benefit of the island, but no record appears of the amount 
or disposition. 

The governor of the island immediately collected dues for the 
slaughtering of cattle and the selling of meats, and also from stores 
and shops of all kinds. To meet the difficulty of beef supply at a 
wood-choppers' camp the governor devised a system of dues based 
upon the amount of charcoal and cord word exported, which dues 
were levied in lieu of those legally authorized. 

In accessible camps or "cuttings" the amount of export was actually 
ascertained. In other "cuttings," more inaccessible, a lump sum per 
month was exacted, based on the number of men employed. 

The quantity of mangrove and other scrubby wood available for 
charcoal and cord wood is practically unlimited, all the coast of the 
island and the keys to the north being covered with this growth, and 
the State does not appear to have collected any dues for the privilege 
of cutting. The dues seem to have been simply in the nature of town 
taxes, levied on wood choppers' camps in order that they should not, 
by leaving the established towns, escape the burden of taxation. 



Appendix. 

Physiography of the Isle of Pines. 

[By C. Willaed Hayes, U. S. Geological Survey.] 

The essential elements in the physiography of this island are (1) a low, swampy 
coastal plain, (2) a broad, gently undulating interior plain, and (3) ridges and hills 
rising abruptly from the central plain. 



100 ISLE OF PINES. 

(1) At a few points along the north side of the island the ridges reach the coast 
and the waves have produced sea cliffs. Elsewhere about its eastern, northern, and 
western sides (as well as in a belt crossing the island south of its center and forming 
the great cienaga) the island is bordered by a narrow strip of lowland, generally 
swampy, and covered with a dense growth of mangroves. The shore is often formed 
by a low sandy beach, back of which is the mangrove swamp. This coastal fringe 
corresponds in all particulars with the many low sandy keys which border the south- 
ern coast of Cuba from Cape Cruz westward. It varies in width from a mere fringe 
only a few yards in width to a strip several miles broad. Wherever it is present it 
shows that the island is increasing in area. 

The southern coast of the island is entirely different from that above described. 
Facing upon the deep Caribbean Sea, where the waves have full unobstructed sweep, 
conditions are favorable for coral growth, and this portion of the coast is fringed 
with coral reefs. 

The island has in comparatively recent geologic time stood slightly lower than 
now. The land now forming the costal plain was then submerged, and the waves 
cut a terrace about 50 feet above the present sea level. Nueva Gerona is built on 
such a terrace, and at various places back of that town the old sea cliff may be 
observed. It is prominent about the northern ends of both the Sierras de las Casas 
and los Caballos. It is also seen on the road from Santa Fe to Jucaro, and a further 
examination would doubtless show its presence at many other points along the north- 
ern and eastern sides of the island. It seems, however, to be entirely absent from 
the southwestern portion. 

(2) The interior plain occupies probably 75 per cent of the entire surface of the 
island. It varies in altitude between 75 and 110 feet, with a few portions possibly 
rising to 150 feet above sea level. The surface consists of a succession of gentle swells 
and depressions, barely enough to relieve the monotony of a dead level. The 
streams, which are not numerous, flow in broad depressions with gentle slopes. In 
these depressions the channels are cut from 5 to 15 feet in depth, with steep banks, 
and proportionate to the volume of the streams. No well-developed flood plains are 
encountered and the streams appear to fill these channels in time of flood. All the 
streams, except near the coast, show rock in place in their channels. 

This plain is covered for the most part with fine quartz gravel. The smaller 
pebbles, from i to f inch in diameter, are well rounded and often highly polished. 
The larger pebbles are more angular with increasing size, and those over 2 inches 
in diameter have their angles scarcely at all rounded. This gravel is everywhere 
deep red or black, and the iron and manganese which produce the color have not 
only stained the surface of the pebbles, but have penetrated entirely through, often 
giving them a metallic luster. In addition to coloring the pebbles, the iron has in 
many places cemented them into large masses of conglomerate. 

So far as observed this interior plain is everywhere underlain by highly crystalline 
mica schists. The foliation of the schist strikes nearly north and south, and has a 
vertical or steep easterly dip. Its surface is always deeply weathered, except where 
streams have cut down and exposed the fresh rock in their channels. The weath- 
ered rock passes insensibly upward into the subsoil, and that into the surface gravels, 
showing that both are residual — that is, derived directly from the underlying rocks. 
The schist contains numerous quartz veins and stringers, and it is from these that 
the gravel is derived. The rounding of the quartz fragments is probably due not to 
the rolling action of waves or stream currents, but to the beating of rain. By this 
means only the smaller fragments, which can be easily moved by the rain, are 
rounded, while the larger fragments retain their original angular forms. 

The soil covering this interior plain varies from barren red gravel to dark-gray 
sandy loam. The former covers the swells, while the latter is found in the inter- 
vening depressions. Sometimes there is a layer of gravel beneath a few inches of 
sandy loam at the surface, a condition which exercises an important influence on 
the agricultural value of the land. 

Practically the entire surface of the interior plain is occupied by forests and 
savannahs or prairies. The character of the timber depends on variations in soil. 
Where the ferruginous gravel is abundant only pines are found. The trees are 
small, rarely attaining a greater size_ than 14 or 16 inches in diameter and 16 to 18 
feet to the main branches. The best timber is found in the west central portion of 
the island. In the shallow depressions, where the surface soil is a sandy loam, the 
pines are largely replaced by palmettos. The character of the forests is shown by 
the accompanying photographs. They are generally open and quite free from under- 
growth of any kind except grass. There is no sharp tine between forest and savannah, 
and the latter often contain scattered pine trees or groups of palmettos. 

The first suggestion regarding the origin of this plain is that it is due to marine 
erosion, but a careful examination fails to reveal any of the characteristic marks of 



ISLE OP PINES. 101 

wave action. As stated above, the superficial gravel does not owe its rounded form 
to the action of waves, and no traces of marine deposits are found on the plain. It 
has undoubtedly been produced by the long-continued action of subaerial forces, 
which are everywhere tending to degrade the land surface to sea level. Unlike 
Cuba, the Isle of Pines has maintained a stable position with reference to sea level 
for a very long time, long enough for the atmospheric agencies to reduce highlands 
of hard schist nearly to base level. It has not recently been elevated to any consid- 
erable altitude, for its streams are flowing in rock channels — not excavated and 
alluvial filled channels as would otherwise be the case. 

(3) Approaching the Isle of Pines from the northward the first impression one 
gains is that its surface is prevailingly mountainous. This is due to the presence of 
numerous ridges and groups of hills, which rise abruptly from the central plain. 
When examined near at hand they are found to occupy a relatively small proportion 
of the island's surface, being entirely surrounded and isolated by the central plain. 
They are true monadnocks; that is, residual masses of resistant rock left in high relief 
by the wearing down of the less resistant surrounding rocks. 

The Sierras de las Casas, los Caballos, and Pequena are three parallel ridges in the 
northern part of the island, about 2\ or 3 miles apart, and trending nearly due north 
and south. Nueva (ierona lies about midway between the two first named. The 
highest points in these ridges are between 1,000 and 1,200 feet. They are composed 
of marble in massive beds dipping steeply toward the east. This marble formation 
is estimated to be at least 2,000 feet in thickness, and the three parallel ridges are 
probably formed by faulted blocks and contain the same beds. The form of these 
ridges is determined by the structure. They have smooth though steep slopes on 
the eastern sides, the slopes generally corresponding with the dip of the marble beds 
and extremely rugged, often precipitous, slopes on the western sides where the edges 
of the beds outcrop. These ridges are almost entirely devoid of soil and sustain only 
a scanty vegetation, some trees and bushes maintaining a precarious foothold in the 
crevices of the rocks. 

The Cerro de la Daguilla is an elongated cone about 10 miles south of Santa Fe. 
It is composed of dark-green hornblende schist, evidently an altered igneous rock. 
It differs completely from the marble monadnocks in the northern part of the island. 
Its slopes are generally smooth, though very steep, and covered with sufficient soil 
to sustain a dense growth of bushes and small trees or a thick covering of grass. 
The Sierras de la Canada, de San Pedro, del Norte, and de la Seiba, judging from 
their forms, are probably composed of rocks similar to those in La Daguilla. 

The Cerros de la Siguanea and de las Maneaderos are groups of low hills in the 
southwestern portion of the island near Siguanea Bay. They are composed of schist 
similar to that underlying the surrounding central plain, except that it is more sili- 
ceous, and hence better able to resist atmospheric degredation. 

Considering the island in its broader relations, it is evident that it has little in 
common with Cuba. Its geologic structures appear to have no close connection with 
those of the larger island, in fact, the strike of its structural axes is nearly at right 
angles with those of Pinar del Eio, the nearest part of Cuba. No trace of Mesozoic 
or Tertiary formations, which make up so large a part of Cuba, was observed on the 
Isle of Pines, though such formations may possibly occur in the southern portion 
south of the great cienaga. Further, the island appears to have had an extremely 
simple geologic history, and to have suffered few of the geologic vicissitudes of its 
northern neighbor. 

Considered from the economic view point the Isle of Pines is scarcely to be com- 
pared with Cuba. Its soil is not adapted for sugar raising, though certain parts are 
probably as well adapted to tobacco culture as the famous Vuelta Abajo district. 
Much of the island would doubtless produce fruits, as well as cacao, which latter is 
one of the most profitable crops grown in the Tropics. The industry for which the 
island appears preeminently fitted is grazing, and it will doubtless in time become an 
important source of supply for cattle and sheep for the West Indian markets. 

It is also destined to become an important health resort, and all conditions of 
climate, vegetation, and scenery combine to render it attractive, both to invalids and 
others who wish to escape the severe northern winters. 

The mineral resources so far as at present known are confined to marble, but of 
this there is an unlimited amount of different grades, suitable for a great variety of 
purposes. It is possible that iron and manganese may both be discovered on the 
island in commercial quantities. 

Unfortunately the island is without deep harbors, which largely neutralizes its 
value from a military standpoint. 



102 isle op pines. 

Committee on Printing, House of Representatives, 

Washington, D. C, , April 4-, 1902. 
Capt. Clarence R. Edwards, 

Office Insular Affairs, War Department. 
My Dear Mr. Edwards: Pardon me if I remind you of our recent 
conversation over the telephone regarding advance proof sheets of 
reports which will give me information relative to physical conditions, 
resources, etc. , of the Isle of Pines. One of my constituents, in whose 
behalf I was making the inquiry, has again written me, and he exhib- 
its special interest in the matter, as he has some business interests down 
there. I shall therefore be obliged for such information as you can 
give in this direction. Can you also tell me what are the necessary 
steps to procure a franchise down- there? 

Thanking you in advance, I am, very truly, yours, 

Joel P. Heatwole. 



War Department, 
Division of Insular Affairs, 

Washington, D. C, April 11, 1902. 

My Dear Mr. Heatwole: In response to note regarding franchises 
in the Isle of Pines, I venture to remind you of the Foraker resolution 
prohibiting the granting of any franchise or concession of any kind by 
the United States, or b}^ any military or other authority whatever, in 
the island of Cuba during the occupation thereof by the United States. 
This has been interpreted to include the Isle of Pines, while section 6 
of the Piatt amendment (army appropriation act approved March 2, 
1901) provides that the Isle of Pines shall not be included in the con- 
stitutional boundaries of Cuba, but shall be held to await adjustment 
by treaty. 

It is understood that considerable purchase of real estate in that 
island from private parties have been made by corporations and others 
interested in immigration and other enterprises, but the question of 
franchises is understood to necessarily remain in abeyance for the 
present. 

There is but little, if any, public land, excepting that which is of 
practically no value, in this small island. 

Will inclose you our new pamphlet. 
Yery respectfully, 

C. R. Edwards, Chief of Division. 
Hon. Joel P. Heatwole, 

House of Representatives. 



[Telegram.] 

War Department, April 25, 1902. 
Root, Secretary of War, Habana, Cuba: 

Magoon suggests that the basis of military government being actual 
military occupation, therefore, in the absence of Congressional legis- 
lation for government in Isle of Pines, arrangement should be made to 
station troops on said island upon withdrawal from Cuba. 

Sanger, Acting Secretary of War. 



ISLE OF PINES. 103 

[Telegram.] 

Headquarters Department of Cuba, 

Habana, May ty, 1902. 
Secretary of War, Washington: 

Request instructions relative Isle of Pines. Important this matter 
be dealt with at once, as rumors from island indicate there will be an 
issue as to whether the island is under the Cuban Government or 
independent therefrom. Takes at least two days to get message to 
Isle of Pines. I desire to have the status of the island fully under- 
stood by its inhabitants prior to our withdrawal to avoid possible dis- 
turbances therein. 

Wood, Military Governor. 



[Telegram.] 

Headquarters Department of Cuba, 

Habana, May 10, 1902. 
Secretary of War, Washington: 

Shall I notify the Cuban Government upon transfer being made to 
continue in charge of Isle of Pines, pending action thereon under 



treaty 



Wood. 



[Telegram.] 

War Department, May 16, 1902. 
Wood, Habana: 

Referring to your dispatches of May 10 and May 14, relating to the 
Isle of Pines, you are instructed to insert in the declaration of transfer 
marked "D," inclosed in my letter of May 3, as amended by my letter 
of May 10, immediately before the concluding clause thereof the 
following paragraph, viz: 

It is understood by the United States that the present government of the Isle of 
Pines will continue as a de facto government, pending the settlement of the title of 
said island by treaty pursuant to the Cuban constitution and the act of Congress of 
the United States approved March 2, 1901. 

Root, Secretary of War. 



Department of State, 

Washington, July 11, 1902. 
The Secretary of War. 

Sir: I have the honor to inclose copies of letters from the Hon. 
John Dalzell and the Hon. Ernest F. Acheson, of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, suggesting that the status of the Isle of Pines be settled by 
treaty at an early date. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

John Hay. 



104 isle op pines. 

The Pierce Tourist Company, 
Agents for American and Foreign Tours, 

Providence, R. I., May 20, 1902. 
The Secretary of War, Washington, D. O. 

Sir: Will you kindly inform me whether it is the intention of the 
United States authorities to continue the administration of the govern- 
ment of the Isle of Pines pending the determination of the question as 
to its future status, or whether the control of the island is to be trans- 
ferred to the Cuban authorities prior to that event? 

On account of contemplated business operations there, 1 woult 
appreciate the favor of your early reply. 
Very respectfully, 

Chas. P. Pierce. 



War Department, 
Division of Insular Affairs, 

Washington, B. C, May 26, 1902. 
Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 20th instant, asking 
whether the United States authorities would continue to administer 
the government of the Isle of Pines. 

In reply you are advised that the government of the Isle of Pines, 
which was administering the affairs of the island prior to May 20, 1902, 
has been continued as a de facto government pending the settlement 
of the title to said island by treaty pursuant to the Cuban constitution 
and the act of Congress of the United States approved March 2, 1901. 
Very respectfully, 

J. Van Ness Philip, 
Assistant Chief of Division. 
Mr. Chas. F. Pierce, 

Providence. P. I. 



Hon. John Hay, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. O. 

Dear Sir: The inclosed petition, which is self-explanatory, has been 
intrusted to me, as president of the American Residents and Property 
Owners' Association of the Isle of Pines, for presentation to you. 
The other papers which I inclose are copies in English and Spanish of 
a petition presented to the President and Secretary of War some six 
months ago. 

The additional signatures were intended to be attached to those on 
the original petition, but owing to a prolonged absence in distant 
countries, they have but recently reached me. As the matter is now 
out of the hands of the War Department, I thought it proper, as a 
matter of information, to refer them to j^ou. 

The letter from Mr. Raynard, while it may not be of great impor- 
tance in itself, serves to emphasize the general feeling of unrest and 
uncertainty which prevails on the island. Natives and Americans alike 
are looking forward to annexation as a certainty, and affairs on the 
island will remain in a chaotic condition until annexation takes place. 



ISLE OF PINES. 105 

Should you desire any further information regarding the Isle of 
Pines, I shall be glad to place myself at your service at any time. 
My address is box 394, Pittsburg, Pa. 

Very respectfully, yours, T. J. Keenan. 



Columbia, Isle of Pines, June 12, 1902. 
Mr. T. J. Keenan, 

President Isle of Pines Property Owners and 

Residents League, 394 P. 0. Box, Pittsburg, Pa. 

My Dear Sir: I inclose herewith a certified copy of a notice which 
was placed on the table of an American resident of this island during 
his absence from home, notifying him that he must leave the island 
within one week from the receipt of the same or accept the conse- 
quences that will follow. 

Mr. J. D. Pingree, the gentleman to whom the notice is addressed, 
is a very quiet, unassuming, law-abiding citizen of the United States, 
who, from what I can ascertain, would not be guilty of any such mis- 
demeanor as is charged against him by the anonymous writer. 

In the absence of any United States authority on this island to whom 
he might appeal for protection, Mr. Pingree has come to me for 
advice and asks that you, as the president of our league, take the mat- 
ter up to President Roosevelt. 

I have advised him to place the matter in the hands of the " alcalde," 
the present "de facto government on the island," demanding protec- 
tion, and to say to the alcalde that if he did not give the protection 
asked that the United States would, and at the same time for him to 
write to Hon. Herbert Squires, at Habana, Cuba, the nearest United 
States consul in the West Indies, giving him a full detailed account of 
his case, and to advise him fully of his conference with the "alcalde." 

Knowing the present alcalde's averseness to Americans, or any- 
thing which is American, Mr. Pingree at first declined to place the 
matter in his hands, but afterwards decided to do so, when he realized, 
as we all do, the chaotic state of affairs on this island — no governor, 
no courts, no constitution, and no law, with the government of an 
island containing 1,200 square miles, the lives and property of 500 
Americans and 3,000 natives, placed in the hands of a native Cuban, 
who has never before had more experience than to be mayor of a 
small town of less than 1,000 inhabitants, and which he did not man- 
age successfully, as is shown by Captain Slocum's report, which ca>n 
be found among the army records. 

Trusting that you will give this matter your prompt attention, as it 
is the urgent request of Mr. Pingree, I will close. 
Respectfully, 

Charles Raynard, 
Secretary Isle of Pines Property Owners and Residents' League. 



Ysla de Pinos, Juna de 1902. 

Sr. PlNGER. 

Senor: Usted aun permiso este isla, Ysla de Pinos, dentro una 
samana. Porque usted haber tener muchos enemigo en esta Ysla. El 



106 ISLE OP PINES. 

hombre que mi alii en mal Pies sabe que usted matared un numeroso 
de el cochonallors el ha inf ormared mi y Yo intentar a aminar con 
cuidado el asunto. Toma mi avise y permiso la Ysla de Pinos 6 tomar 
el consecuencia. 

De uno quien ha el pode a esforzar est amonestacion. 

I certify the above to be a true and exact copy of a notice shown me 
by Mr. J. D. Pingree, a citizen of the United States, who says the 
same was left on the table at his residence in this island while he (Mr. 
Pingree) was absent from home. 

The notice tells the addressee to leave the island within one week 
from the receipt of the same, or accept the consequences. 

Chaeles Raynaud* 



Whereas the treaty of Paris and the act of the United States Con- 
gress, commonly called the Piatt amendment, plainly foreshadow that 
the Isle of Pines, a territory at present within the jurisdiction of the 
War Department of the United States Government, is to become a 
permanent possession of the United States; and 

Whereas large investments in real estate and improvements upon 
the island have been made under these assurances of future ownership 
of the United States Government; and 

Whereas any period of transition from the present military govern- 
ment (with which we desire to express our entire satisfaction) to a 
permanent civil administration must be a period of unrest and uncer- 
tainty; 

Whereas it is our firm belief that, as United States territory, the 
Isle of Pines, with its exceptional advantages of soil, climate, and geo- 
graphical location, will become one of the most favored and prosperous 
spots on earth. 

Resolved, That we, the undersigned, representing in our own per- 
sons, or as authorized agents, the ownership of more than one-half the 
area of the Isle of Pines, respectfully petition that the formal acqui- 
sition of the island by the United States be accomplished as speedily 
as possible, and we earnestly desire that whatever change in govern- 
ment such acquisition may involve may be a change in form only, and 
that the flag of the United States, which for more than three years has 
floated over our island, may never be hauled down. 

Th. F. de Jonge, B. F. de Jonge, L. S. Brown, E. B. Tyler, 
A. T. Odoardo, C. G. Bomfoul, H. T. Rogers, W. K. 
Rogers, B. Johnson, Bob Kay, J. A. Whiteford, O. P. 
Parrish, Oscar Mens, L. J. Coder, O. W. Masy, J. H. 
Martin, G. E. Moe, N. L. Dibbig, E. M. Penfield, 
R. H. Keays, C. P. Spain, J. A. Pollard, H. E. Hyde. 

Note. — The above transcribed in Spanish is also attached, with the 
following names subscribed thereto: 

Espanol Inscripto, Licdo. en Medicina, proprietario, Manuel Arajo; 
Espanol registrado, proprietario, Enrique Gonzalez, Gabriel de Vada, 
and six others. 



ISLE OP PINES. 107 

Hon. John Hay, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 

Sir: In the recent transfer of the government of the island of Cuba 
from the War Department of the United States Government to the 
officials of the Republic of Cuba it was provided that the de facto gov- 
ernment of the Isle of Pines should be continued pending the negotia- 
tion of a treaty for the annexation of the island by the United States. 

It is the earnest hope of the undersigned, residents and property 
holders upon the Isle of Pines, that the consummation of the treaty of 
annexation may not be long delayed. 

The present de facto government of the island is unsatisfactory and 
incomplete. The chief executive authority over a territory as large 
as the State of Rhode Island is exercised by the alcalde of a town of 
1,000 inhabitants, the functions of whose office were originally merely 
municipal in their scope and whose gubernatorial powers are inade- 
quate and undefined. 

For all practical purposes the government of the island has ceased 
to exist. All public work has been stopped. The schools have been 
dismissed, for lack of provision for their maintenance. 

The island is without a legal tribunal for the trial of cases, civil and 
criminal. Immigration has ceased. The investment of private capital 
which promised a phenomenal prosperity for the island has been sus- 
pended and all progress is at a standstill pending the permanent raising 
of the American flag. 

In the absence of thorough and competent investigation the com- 
mercial and stategetic possibilities of the island have not heretofor 
been properly appreciated. 

Ninety per cent of the land surface is adapted to the raising of the 
most valuable of tropical products. 

The climate and water are unsurpassed anywhere. Settlers from 
any part of the United States require no acclimitization. 

The present population is a mere bagatelle to what the island is 
capable of supporting. A matchless opportunity is thus afforded of 
planting a distinctly American colony in the heart of the West Indies. 

The shallowness of the water about the island has been described as 
a disadvantage. The fact of the matter, as borne out by all reliable 
marine charts, is that a much deeper channel exists along the north 
shore of the island than upon the opposite coast of Cuba. A fine 
anchorage with 24 feet of water, with a channel of 21 feet to the deep 
sea, lies near the principal town of the island. A little dredging 
would transform Siguanea Bay into a fine naval station, within easy 
reach of the Nicaragua or Panama Canal; and along the whole south 
coast of the island a depth of 100 fathoms may be found. 

Aside, however, from the material advantages which will accrue from 
the possession of the island, we feel that the good faith of the United 
States is, in a measure, involved in its acquisition. 

Upon the practical assurance of such acquisition, embodied in the 
treaty of Paris, subsequent Congressional action, and various official 
documents, hundreds of citizens of the United States have sought homes 
upon the island and hundreds of thousands of dollars of American cap- 
ital have been invested here. 

We respectfully request that, in consideration of the facts above set 
forth, Your Excellency will direct the early preparation of a treaty 



108 ISLE OP PINES. 

with the Republic of Cuba providing for the permanent acquisition of 
the Isle of Pines by the United States. 

T. J. Keenan. 

Charles Raynaud. 

C. M. Johnson. 

Ed. C. Smith. 

R. P. Ewing. 

Theo. Chadwick. 

P. J. Corn. 

P. A. Ramshill. 
(And sixty others,; 



United States Senate, 
Washington, D. C, July 1, 1902. 
Hon. John Hay, Secretary of State. 

Dear, Sir: Mr. Keenan, a prominent citizen of Pittsburg and a 
large property owner in the Isle of Pines, called to see you yesterday, 
but unfortunately found you out. He wanted to confer with you 
as to the very unsatisfactory status of matters in the Isle of Pines and 
to urge the prompt negotiation of a proper treaty looking to the 
annexation of the island. 

I inclose papers explaining the matter and hope that you will give 
it early and serious attention. 

Your truly, Boies Penrose. 



House of Representatives United States, 

Washington, D. O. 
Hon. John Hay, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: I understand that pressure is being brought to bear to 
secure the early annexation of the Island of Pines by the United States. 
I have taken quite a little interest in this question, owing to the fact 
that friends and constituents of mine have invested heavily in the 
islands, under the quite pardonable assumption that it was to become 
United States territory. They are prepared to go ahead with the devel- 
opment of the islands on an extensive scale. Aside from this consider- 
ation, however, the island is, I am convinced, of great commercial 
importance to the United States. It is directly north of the Panama 
Canal, within easy reach of New Orleans and Jamaica, and dominates 
the whole southern coast of Cuba, and is especially adapted for Amer- 
ican colonization. It will prove quite a factor in the dissemination of 
American influence and ideas throughout the West Indies. 

I sincerely trust that a treaty providing for the annexation of the 
island may be negotiated with Cuba at an early date. 
Yours, very respectfully, 

Wm. H. Graham, 
Twenty-third District Pennsylvania. 



ISLE OF PINES. 109 

[Evening Star, Washington, Tuesday, January 20, 1903.] 

Will resist Cubans rule — Americans on the Isle of Pines almost in revolt. 

The correspondent of the New York Herald in Habana sends the 
following: 

Three hundred American citizens, property owners and residents of 
the Isle of Pines, are preparing- to resist, forcibly if necessary, any 
further exercise of sovereignty there by the Cuban Government. 

Formal demand was made upon Minister Squires Monday for the 
protection due to American citizens on American territory. Mr. 
Squires is conferring with President Palma. 

American residents on the island say they own and occupy more 
than two-thirds of the land there. They assert that the Cuban Gov- 
ernment is levying oppressive and unlawful taxes in the Isle of Pines 
and spending the proceeds in the island of Cuba. Administration of 
justice in the Isle of Pines is said to be unreliable. 

The protesting Americans say they have settled in the island with 
their families and mean to stay. Before investing their money in the 
purchase and improvement of real estate they received official assur- 
ances from Washington that the Isle of Pines was territory of the 
United States. They refuse to pay further taxes to the Cubans and 
ask that steps be immediately taken to establish a government in the 
island under American authority. 

The situation is becoming serious. An open rupture is likely to 
occur if President Palma sends rural guards to the Isle of Pines to 
enforce collection of taxes. 

Cuban officials in the island are having Americans watched by rural 
guards. The alcalde is preparing a report for President Palma. 

Americans assert that Secretary Eoot instructed General Wood last 
May to continue the then existing American military regime as the de 
facto government of the island, but General Wood withdrew without 
doing this. They say the Piatt amendment has been distinctly vio- 
lated, as that amendment excludes the Isle of Pines from the constitu- 
tional limits of Cuba. 

Cubans maintain that the Isle of Pines was and continues to be a 
part of their territory. 



Department of State, 

Washington, July 16, 1902. 
The Secretary of War. 

Sir: Referring to Article VI of the appendix to the constitution of 
Cuba, reading as follows — 

The Island of Pines shall be omitted from the boundaries of Cuba specified in the 
constitution, the title of ownership thereof being left to future adjustment by treaty — 

I have the honor to inclose, for your information and consideration, 
copies of letters addressed to this Department in regard to the condi- 
tion of affairs in that island. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

John Hat. 



110 isle of pines. 

July 26, 1902. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 
the 16th instant, inclosing copies of letter from Hon. William H. 
Graham and T. J. Keenan, with inclosures, and from Hon. Boies 
Penrose, dated July 1, 1902, with inclosure, relative to the condition 
of affairs in the Island of Pines. 

Very respectfully, W. Sanger, 

Acting Secretary of War 
The Secretary of State. 



Committee on Ways and Means, 

House of Representatives, 
Washington, D. C, July 7, 1902. 
Hon. John Hay, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: Several of my constituents are the owners of property on 
the Isle of Pines. They complain that under existing conditions they 
are substantially without any government worthy of the name. As I 
understand the matter, the final disposition of this island is to be the 
subject of treaty between the United States and the Cuban Republic. 
My friends have urged me to call your attention to their situation so 
that it may be remedied through the medium of a treaty as soon as 
practicable. I would be glad to be advised of the status. 
Very respectfully, yours, 

John Dalzell. 



Washington, Pa., July 8, 1902. 
Hon. John Hay, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 
Sir: Some of my friends in Pennsylvania are very much interested 
in the early annexation of the Isle of Pines. I think it very desirable 
that it should become ours as soon as possible and hope a treaty with 
Cuba can be made at an early date. 

Yours, truly, Ernest F. Acheson. 



July 16, 1902. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 
the 11th instant inclosing copies of letters from Hon. John Dalzell 
and Hon. Ernest F. Acheson of the House of Representatives, sug- 
gesting that the status of the Isle of Pines be settled by treaty at an 
early date. 

Very respectfully, Elihu Root, 

Secretary of War. 
The Secretary of State. 



ISLE OF PINES. Ill 

Committee on Insular Affairs, 

House of Representatives, 

Washington, D. C, May 22, 1902. 

Chief of the Division of Insular Affairs, 

War Department, Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: I am just in receipt of a communication from a constit- 
uent of mine, Mr. Charles R. Cary, 1610 Maple street, Racine, Wis., 
requesting certain information in regard to lands in the Isle of Pines. 
In this letter to me Mr. Cary states that he understands that the Gov- 
ernment contemplates disposing of some of these lands and desires to 
learn the particulars in regard to such disposition. 

I am not familiar with the subject in question, and so will be greatly 
obliged to you if you will kindly furnish Mr. Cary with such informa- 
tion in regard to the matter as you can. 
Very respectfully, 

H. A. Cooper, M. C, 

First District of Wisconsin. 



War Department, Division of Insular Affairs, 

Washington, D. C, May 27, 1902. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 
22d instant, requesting that Mr. Charles R. C^rj, of Racine, Wis., be 
informed as to whether the Government contemplates disposing of 
some of the land situated in the Isle of Pines. 

In reply you are advised that pending the settlement of the title to 
said island by treaty, pursuant to the Cuban constitution and the act 
of Congress of the United States approved March 2, 1900, this Depart- 
ment is unable to supply information respecting the disposition of the 
public lands therein situated. 
Very sincerely, yours, 

Charles E. Magoon, 

Acting Chief of Division. 
Hon. H. A. Cooper, M. C, 

House of Representatives. 



War Department, 
Dtvision of Insular Affairs, 
Washington, D. C, May 26, 1902. 
Sir: The Hon. H. A. Cooper, M. C, requests this Department to 
inform you whether this Government contemplates disposing of any 
lands in the Isle of Pines. 

In compliance with said request you are advised that the title to 
said island is to be settled by treaty, pursuant to the Cuban constitu- 
tion and the act of Congress approved March 2, 1900, and until the 
treaty is ratified no disposition can be made by any government of the 
public lands in said island. 

Very respectfully, J. Van Ness Philip, 

Assistant Chief of Division. 
Mr. Charles R. Cary, 

1610 Maple street, Racine, Wis. 



112 



ISLE OF PINES. 



August 19, 1902. 
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a communication received, 
by reference from the President, from Mr. E. B. Tyler, of Stacyville, 
Iowa, in which he advocates the annexation of the Isle of Pines. 

The writer has been advised of this reference and that the matter 
is one over which this Department at present has no jurisdiction. 
Very respectfully, 

W. Sanger, 
Acting Secretary of War. 
The Secretary of State. 



War Department, 
Bureau of Insular Affairs, 

Washington, D. C, August 19, 1902. 
Sir: By direction of the Acting Secretary of War, I have the honor 
to acknowledge the receipt, by reference from the President, of your 
communication of August 11, 1902, in which you advocate the annex- 
ation of the Isle of Pines. 

]n response you are informed that your letter has been referred to 
the State Department, the matter being one over which this Depart- 
ment at present has no jurisdiction. 
Very respectfully, 

Clarence R. Edwards, 
Colonel, U. S. Army, Chief of Bureau. 
Mr. E. B. Tyler, 

Stacyville, Iowa. 

[Third indorsement.] 

War Department, 
Bureau of Insular Affairs, 

Washington, D. C. , November 17, 1902. 
Respectfully returned to Messrs. Merrill & Baker, 142 Fifth ave- 
nue, New York, N. Y., inviting attention to the preceding indorse- 
ment. The officials of the department of public works, Isle of Pines, 
are under the present jurisdiction of the Cuban Government. 

J. Van Ness Philip, 

Assistant Chief of Bureau. 



Department of State, 
Washington, November 11, 1902. 
The Secretary of War. 

Sir: I have the honor to inclose copies of a letter and a memorial 
addressed to this Department by Messrs. S. H. Pearcy, J. H. H. Randall, 
andT. J. Keenan, alleging that they represent 300 American citizens 
holding vested interests in the Isle of Pines, and urging the institu- 
tion of an American government on that island. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

John Hay. 



ISLE OF PINES. 113 

[First indorsement.] 

Wak Department, 
Bureau of Insular Affairs, 
Washington, D. C. , November IS, 1902. 
Respectfully referred to Brig. Gen. Leonard Wood, late military 
governor of Cuba, 1812 H street NW., Washington, D. C, to note. 
The prompt return of these papers is respectfully requested. 

C. R. Edwards, 

Colonel, JJ. S. Army, Chief of Bureau. 

[Second indorsement.! 

Office of Late Military Governor of Cuba, 

Washington, November 17, 190%. 
Respectfully returned to the Chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs, 
War Department, Washington, D. C. ; contents noted. 

The question of the ownership of the Isle of Pines is one that 
demands early settlement. Colonists going to the Isle of Pines, 
whenever they consulted me, were always informed that" the owner- 
ship of this island was a matter for future settlement, and the instruc- 
tions covering the transfer of the military government did not warrant 
the continuance of a military government in the island. 

Leonard Wood, 
Brigadier- General, U. S. Army. 



November 20, 1902. 
Sir: Having reference to your communication of the 11th instant, 
forwarding copies of a letter and a memorial signed by S. H. Pearcy, 
J. H. H. Randall, and T. J. Keenan, residents of the Isle of Pines, 
urging the establishment of an American government on that island, 
I have the honor to inform you that this communication having been 
referred to Brig. Gen. Leonard Wood, late military governor of Cuba, 
to note, it has been received back with the following indorsement: 

Eespectfully returned to the Chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs, War Depart- 
ment, Washington, D. C, contents noted. 

The question of the ownership of the Isle of Pines is one that demands early set- 
tlement. Colonists going to the Isle of Pines, whenever they consulted me, were 
always informed that the ownership of this island was a matter for future settle- 
ment, and the instructions covering the transfer of the military government did not 
warrant the continuance of a military government in the island. 

Leonard Wood, 
Brigadier-General, U. S. Army. 

Very respectfully, Elihu Root, 

Secretary of War. 
The Secretary of State. 



New York City, November 8, 1902. 
Hon. John Hay, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: The American citizens of the Isle of Pines, numbering 
more than 300, who have vested interests in the island, ask you, for 
the following reasons, to institute an American government thereon: 
S. Doc. 205, 59-1 8 



114 ISLE OF PINES. 

First. Because the island belongs to the United States by cession 
from Spain, and this title has not been parted with. 

Second. Because the act of Congress embodjdng the Piatt amend- 
ment declares that the island shall be omitted from the proposed con- 
stitutional boundaries of Cuba. 

Third. Because the present government is, therefore, illegal. 

Fourth. Because the present Cuban Government is insufficient, vex- 
atious, oppressive, and every way unsatisfactory to the Americans, 
who own more than half of the island, and who do absolutely all of the 
business in the way of purchasing real estate and making improve- 
ments on the island. 

Fifth. Because the Americans located on the island, after having 
been informed that the island was a part of the United States territory 
by the War Department, and fully relying upon the terms of the 
treaty of Paris, ceding the island to the United States, and without 
any purpose or desire to expatriate themselves from the United States, 
and they now earnestly pray that expatriation be not enforced upon 
them. 

We have the honor to be, your obedient servants, 

S. H. Pearcy. 

J. H. H. Randall. 

T. J. Keenan. 

(Representing 300 American citizens who own property or reside 
upon the Isle of Pines.) 



[Newspaper clipping.— Commercial Bulletin, November 12, 1902.] 

ISLE OF PINES AFFAIRS DECLARED IN BAD SHAPE — DELEGATION PRESENT 
THEIR GRIEVANCES TO THE PRESIDENT. 

Washington, November 10. — The question of the control of the Isle 
of Pines was brought directly to the attention of President Roosevelt 
to-day. A delegation consisting of S. H. Pearcy, J. H. H. Randall, 
T. J. Keenan, and J. H. Hill, all citizens of the United States and resid- 
ing in the Isle of Pines, was introduced to the President by Senator 
Cullom, of Illinois, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign 
Relations. 

It was shown that the party represented more than 300 citizens of 
the United States who have taken up residence in the Isle of Pines. 
Many have made large investments on the island in land and improve- 
ments under the belief that the United States would control it. The 
President was informed that more than half of the island is owned by 
American citizens. 

As a result of the turning over of the Isle of Pines to the Republic 
of Cuba for administrative purposes, things are said to be in a chaotic 
state on the island. There is not a notary public or a judicial officer 
on the island. The delegation is informed that the Republic of Cuba 
claims the Isle of Pines and proposes to establish prisons, penal colo- 
nies, and a leper hospital there. Such a course, if pursued, the dele- 
gation indicated to the President, would wipe out every dollar invested 
in the island. 



ISLE OF PINES. 115 

President Roosevelt has asked the Secretary of War to make a report 
on the situation regarding the Isle of Pines, as it was at the time of 
the withdrawal of the United States from Cuba, and also on the gov- 
ernment on that island during the time the United States was in con- 
trol in Cuba. 

In an interview on the condition of affairs upon the plans, Mr. T. J. 
Keenan of Pittsburg., who is president of the American Residents and 
Property Owners' Association of the island, said that the condition 
of affairs on the island was so bad that United States Minister Squires 
had virtually advised a delegation of American Pine Islanders, who 
recently called on him in Habana, to take matters into their own hands 
and establish a provisional government. 



A MEMORIAL OF AMERICAN CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES RESIDING 
IN THE ISLE OF PINES. 

The Secretary of State: 

Your memorialists, numbering 300 American citizens, residing in 
the Isle of Pines, and who own more than one-half of the island, make 
the following pra} r er: First, relief from the present government in 
the Isle of Pines; second, that the island be retained as a part of the 
territory of the United States. 

In respect to the first it may be said that there is no government in 
the Isle of Pines. There is an alcalde and seven policemen, and a 
clerk to a judge, whose office is in Habana Province, Cuba. The 
official actions of all these are governed by officers residing in the 
island of Cuba. As a matter of fact, there is no need of the presence 
of the alcalde and the policemen and clerk on the island, for the rea- 
son that the moral influence of the Americans is dominant and quite 
sufficient to maintain order. The clerk referred to has no jurisdiction 
nor powers which enable him to transact any business of consequence 
to the residents of the island. 

Almost the entire business that would come before a governmental 
office has been the conveyance of land, the payment of taxes, and such 
acknowledgments as might be taken before a notary public. Yet 
whenever this business had to be attended to it was necessary to travel 
to the province of Habana, which required several days and entailed 
considerable expense, a hardship which many Americans have found 
it hard to bear. But this hardship is less burdensome and less objec- 
tionable than the greed shown by Cuban officials in the exaction of 
unreasonable fees for the performance of the simplest official acts. 
The experience of one of our American colonists, Mr. S. H. Pearcy, 
vice-president of the Isle of Pines Improvement Company, fully illus- 
trates this. He had purchased a tract of land and was compelled to go 
to Bijucal, Cuba, where the records of the Isle of Pines are kept, to 
have the conveyance of the property made. Owing to the procras- 
tination of the Cuban officials he was unable to have the necessary 
papers executed for nearly four months, during which time he made 
ten trips from the Isle of Pines to Bijucal, which cost him about $300. 

In addition to this vexatious dela}^ and unnecessary expense he was 
compelled to pay the Cuban notary $500 for drawing the deed. Under 
the law no one but a notary can draw a deed in Cuba. He was then 



116 ISLE OF PINES. 

compelled to pay $1,160 to the recorder for recording the papers. Then 
he was forced to pay 1 per cent on all amounts of money stated in the 
papers, the purchase price of the property, all mortgages, etc., and 
then taxes amounting to $1,310.92. The total cost of obtaining a 
simple conveyance of this one piece of property was nearly $1,000. 
Under a rational and just system of government on the island nothing 
like this would be possible; besides, the fees and taxes collected under 
an American Government would be applied to improvements on the 
island. As it is now, Americans owning property on the island are 
taxed without representation, and money exacted from them is used 
in no way for their benefit. 

It certainly could not have been contemplated by the United States 
Government when the instruction was given to General Wood, dated 
May 16, 1902, to continue "the present government of the Isle of 
Pines as a de facto government," that it should continue any longer 
than was necessary for the Department of State to take up the matter 
and formulate a new and better government for the island. 

The War Department relinquished control over the island when the 
island of Cuba was turned over to the Cuban Government, although 
it is respectfully submitted that this was not at all necessary, for 
the law officer of the War Department had explicitly recommended 
that an "arrangement should be made to station troops on said island 
before withdrawal from Cuba" (see telegram of Acting Secretary of 
War to Root, Secretary of War, Habana, Cuba, April 26, 1902). 
But the War Department did relinquish administrative control of the 
Isle of Pines without stationing troops there in pursuance of the 
advice given by the law officer of that Department. 

It was believed that the State Department would immediately take 
up the administration of government on the island, which, however, it 
failed to do; and the island has been left Avithout government, and 
the prey of Cuban officials, since May 20, 1902. Prior to that time 
the government of the island was essentially under the administration 
of the War Department as represented in Governor-General Wood. 
This is the government that must have been referred to as the " pres- 
ent government " in the order of transfer which should be continued 
as a de facto government on the island. Had that government been 
continued as the de facto government your memorialists would have 
no cause of complaint. But it was not. Instead, an entirely new 
government was instituted, provided for in the constitution of Cuba, 
notwithstanding the fact that article 6 of the Piatt amendment in 
terms omits the Isle of Pines from "the proposed constitutional 
boundaries of Cuba." Thus the scope and meaning of the order of 
transfer are disregarded and the act of Congress violated. Why this 
anomalous and remarkable condition of affairs has been allowed to 
continue month after month in the face of appeals and prayers and 
protests, made in writing to the United States Government by three 
hundred American citizens who are entitled to the protection of their 
Government, is inexplicable. How much longer will this condition 
be allowed to continue? 

It is difficult to understand how, under the cession of the island to 
the United States by Spain, and in light of the Piatt amendment omit- 
ting the island from the proposed constitutional boundaries of Cuba, 
any declaration of transfer could be held legal which turned over the 
island even temporarily to the Cuban Government. This would be 



ISLE OF PINES. 117 

essentially a repeal of the act of Congress and an abrogation of the 
terms of the treaty by an administrative officer. No power save the 
Congress itself could do this legally. Yet the order of the Secretary 
of War accomplished this very thing. In effect it placed the Isle of 
Pines, which had been omitted by an act of Congress from the proposed 
constitutional boundaries of Cuba, within those boundaries, and it is 
there now. It is not only there by virtue of the declaration of transfer 
but by express language of the Cuban constitution (Chapter VII), 
thereby violating the act of Congress approved March 2, 1901. 

About Mayl, 1902, Mr. J. C. Tichener and Mr. S. H. Pearcy and 
others had an interview with General Wood, in Habana, in which the 
latter stated emphatically that it would not do to turn the Isle of Pines 
over to the Cuban Government for the reason that it would be a viola- 
tion of the Piatt amendment, as well as be doing violence to the rights 
of the Americans on the island. He further stated that it was his 
intention to send a small military force over to the island to administer 
the affairs there until something- else was done to give the island a 
suitable form of government. The assurances given by General Wood 
were communicated to the Americans on the island, and great rejoicing 
followed. This rejoicing was turned into sorrow and depression by 
what actually occurred. 

In respect to the second prayer your memorialists beg to say that in 
locating upon the Isle of Pines they relied upon the terms of the treaty 
of Paris affecting this island, to wit: 

Spain relinquishes all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba * * * and 
* * * cedes to the United States the island of Porto Eico and other islands now 
under Spanish sovereignty in the "West Indies. 

They relied not alone upon their own interpretation of the treaty, 
but also upon the interpretation of it given out by the War Depart- 
ment. August 10, 1899, George Bridges wrote to that Department as 
follows: 

I am seeking information respecting the Isle of Pines. Does it come in as Porto 
Eico, or under same conditions as Cuba? I expect to go there in November, and for 
this information I would thank you in advance. 

The War Department replied under date August 14, 1899, as follows: 

Eeferring to your communication of August 10 instant, soliciting information 
respecting the Isle of Pines, I am directed by the Assistant Secretary of War to 
advise you that this island was ceded by Spain to the United States, and is, therefore, 
a part of our territory, although it is attached at present to the division of Cuba for 
governmental purposes. A copy of "The Isle of Pines" is inclosed for your infor- 
mation, and you are advised that the disposition of public lands must await the 
action of Congress. 

Very respectfully, John J. Peeshing, 

Assistant Adjutant-General. 

This was accepted as sufficient. The island had been ceded by Spain 
to the United States. The War Department, which had administrative 
control of the island, had declared that it was a part of our territory. 
Relying upon this statement your memorialists, numbering over three 
hundred, emigrated to the Isle of Pines, purchased land and immedi- 
ately began improvements on the same, precisely as they would have 
done had they removed to any other territory belonging to the United 
States. They sought the genial climate, the rich soil, the fine timber, 
and the other advantages offered on the island. Under the circum- 
stances they assuredly had a right to go there as American citizens, and 



118 ISLE OF PINES. 

they also had a right, as they now have, to expect full protection of 
life, liberty, and property under the flag of their country. These people 
are bona fide citizens of the United 'States. They have no purpose of 
expatriating themselves, and they now appeal to their own Govern- 
ment not to become a party to any act or treaty that will force expa- 
triation upon them. 

American citizens have acquired most of the land on the island. 
There are not to exceed twenty natives who are landed proprietors on 
the island. More of the island is owned by nonresident Spaniards 
and Cubans than by native residents. The public land does not 
exceed 20,000 acres. Hence the larger part of the island belongs to 
citizens of the United States, who purchased it from private individ- 
uals, and have made, and are making, substantial improvements upon 
it. Consequently the turning over of the island to Cuba would not 
only be giving that Government control of the island but would be 
placing under its absolute control a colony of 300 citizens of the 
United States, together with all of their interests, who are thus forced 
out of their own country, driven from under their own flag, deprived 
of the value of their property without hope of compensation, and 
many of them reduced to want and misery. Can the United States 
Government afford to do this ? 

Your memorialists have reason to rely upon statements current in 
Cuba that in the event of the Isle of Pines being turned over to the 
Cuban Government, a part of the island will be used for prison pur- 
poses, and a part for the colonization of lepers. Under such conditions 
Americans could not remain on the island. They would, therefore, 
be forced to part with their holdings at any price and leave the island. 
But whether the Cuban Government should use the island in the way 
indicated or not, it is not unreasonable to conclude that the adminis- 
trative conditions would doubtless be such as to drive out our self- 
respecting and independent Americans. 

In this connection your memorialists would respectfully call atten- 
tion to the following statement of facts: 

First. There are over three hundred American citizens domiciled on 
the Isle of Pines. They are bona fide American citizens who located 
on the island for the purpose of making permanent homes. 

Second. They own in fee simple more than one-half of the island. 
On their holdings they have made large and valuable improvements in 
the way of building residences, barns, hotels, bath houses, electric and 
ice plants, and the setting out of hundreds of acres of orange trees 
procured in the United States. 

Third. There is one colony of Americans who own 14,000 acres of 
as fine land as there is on the island. This land has been divided into 
farms, on which are located families from Ohio, Indiana, New York, 
Illinois, and other States. They have built homes, and are making all 
the improvements necessary for successful farming and fruit growing. 

The Isle of Pines Company, composed of people from New York, 
New Jersey, Tennessee, and other States, own 200,000 acres of land, 
on which they have made extensive improvements, costing not less 
than $75,000. The investments of this company in land and improve- 
ments amount already to over $1,000,000. The company has recently 
erected a hotel, the furnishings of which alone cost $13,000. It pur- 
chased one estate for which $80,000 was paid. 

The Fruit Culture Company has invested $175,000 in land and 



ISLE OF PINES. . 119 

improvements, and more than one hundred people are interested. 
These people represent 11 States of this Union. 

The San Jose Company, in which 90 people are interested, has made 
investments amounting to over one million dollars. The people in 
this company represent 7 States. 

The Iowa colony comprises 10 families, or about 150 people, all from 
the State of Iowa, who have purchased 20,000 acres of land, on which 
they are making substantial improvements. They have laid out a 
town and have a post-office, which was established by General Wood. 

Fourth. There are 190 individuals, not connected in any way with 
companies or colonies, who have purchased small tracts of land and are 
making home improvements thereon. One of these individuals is Mr. 
Thomas Keenan, of Pittsburg, Pa., who has invested in land on which 
he has erected a fine residence, an ice plant, and bath houses and other 
improvements, at an actual outlay of over $50,000. 

Fifth. The value of the Isle of Pines to the United States is not 
fully appreciated by the United States Government. Its land is fer- 
tile, and the climate of the island is most salubrious. The water for 
drinking purposes is abundant and of the purest quality possible. 
There never has been an epidemic in the island of any kind. Even 
when yellow fever raged in Cuba there was not a single case of that 
disease in the Isle of Pines. The Cubans who were able to do so fled 
to the Isle of Pines to escape the ravages of yellow fever. Its value 
as a winter resort for Americans is inestimable. Those who are most 
familiar with the island and its waters are firmly of the belief that 
with comparatively small expenditure of money one of the finest har- 
bors in the world could be assured. This would enable the United 
States to have a coaling and naval station on their own island that 
would meet all the needs of the United States in that part of the 
West Indies. 

We have the honor to be, your most obedient servants, 

S. H. Pearcy. 
J. H. H. Randall. 
T. J. Keenan. 



December 11, 1902. 

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 

6th of December, inclosing a letter in regard to the Isle of the Pines 

from Mr. James E. Greer, 1309 L street, Washington, D. C, addressed 

to the Hon. M. A. Hanna, and by him referred to the War Department. 

Very respectfully, 

John Hat. 
Hon. W. Sanger, 

Acting Secretary of War. 



December 5, 1902. 
Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt of your reference of December 2 on a com- 
munication from Mr. James E. Greer, 1309 L street NW., Washing- 
ton, D. C. , inclosing a printed copy of a petition from numerous resi- 



120 - ISLE OF PINES. 

dents of the Isle of Pines requesting the institution of an American 
government there. 

The communication in question has been referred to the honorable 
the Secretary of State. 

Very respectfully, Clarence R. Edwards, 

Colonel, U. S. Army, Chief of Bureau. 

Hon. Marcus A. Hanna, 

United States Senate, Washington, D. C. 



December 5, 1902. 
Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 28th of Novem- 
ber, addressed to Senator Hanna and referred by him to the War 
Department, in regard to the establishing of an American government 
on the Isle of Pines. 

Your communication has been referred to the honorable the Secre- 
tary of State. 

Very respectfully, J. Van Ness Philip, 

Assistant Chief of Bureau. 
Mr. James E. Greer, 

1309 L street NW., Washington, D. C. 



December 6, 1902. 
Sir: Referring to your communication of the 11th of November, 
forwarding copies of a letter and a memorial signed by S. H. Pearcy, 
J. H. H. Randal], T. J. Keenan, petitioning for the institution of an 
American government on the Isle of Pines, I have the honor to for- 
ward herewith a similar printed petition and a letter from Mr. James 
E. Greer, 1309 L street NW., Washington, D. C, to Senator M. A. 
Hanna, which has been referred by the Senator to this Department. 
Very respectfully, 

W. Sanger, 
Acting Secretary of War. 
The Secretary of State. 



January 5, 1903. 
The Secretary of War. 

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 
November 20 last quoting the opinion of the late military governor 
of Cuba that the question of the ownership of the Isle of Pines is one 
that demands early settlement. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

John Hay. 



January 21, 1903. 
Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to 
acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 17th instant requesting infor- 



ISLE OF PINES. 121 

naaiibn as to the ownership and products of the Isle of Pines. There 
has been sent you under separate cover a pamphlet entitled "Isle of 
Fines/' giving information as to the products and containing other 
data in regard to the island. As to its ownership, it is understood 
that this is a matter to be settled by a treaty between the United 
States and Cuba, and your letter has therefore been referred to the 
State Department as a matter pertaining to that Department. 
Very respectfully, 

J. Van Ness Philip, 

Assistant Chief of Bureau. 
Mr. Chas. G. Bell, Boowdlle, Mo. 

[First indorsement.] 

War Department, 
Bureau of Insular Affairs, 
Washington, D. C. , January 21, 1903. 
Respectfully referred to the chief clerk of the State Department, 
Washington, D. C. , and the writer so advised. 

J. Van Ness Philip, 
Assistant Chief of Bureau. 



Paulding, Ohio, January 26, 1903. 
The Secretary of War. 

Sir: I inclose to you herein a circular which contradicts many of the 
statements of your pamphlet relative to the Isle of Pines for agri- 
cultural purposes. 

What, if anjr, truth is there in the alleged mistakes in your pamphlet? 

I ask this because many small investors in this locality are contem- 
plating investing nearly all they have in a venture in the Isle of Pines, 
and they ought to be protected if the allegation contained in the cir- 
culars are false. 

Yours, truly, W. H. Phipps. 

January 29, 1903. 
' Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 26th instant, in which 
you inclose a circular which contradicts certain statements made in the 
pamphlet issued by this Bureau relative to the Isle of Pines. 

In reply to that portion of your letter asking if there is any truth 
in the alleged mistakes in this pamphlet, I have to say that the same 
was prepared in the Insular Bureau and was based entirely upon offi- 
cial and scientific information in the posession of this Bureau. The 
maps are reduced reproductions of military publications and harbor 
charts in the possession of the United States, which are accepted as 
authority. The statistics of population are quoted from the census of 
Cuba taken in 1899 under the direction of the United States. 

After the copy was in the proof it was sent down to Cuba while one 
of the officers of this Bureau was there and was submitted to an officer 
of General Wood's staff, who has recently made a reconnoissance of 
the Isle of Pines, for correction. The pamphlet as it now appears was 
approved in Cuba, and it is believed that most of the facts and matter 
therein stated are materially correct, and all we can say is that they 



122 ISLE OP PINES. 

were based on the best information obtainable at the time of its 
publication. 

I would further state that the information as to the depth of the 
water is based upon hydrographic charts of the United States and the 
British Admiralty. 

Very respectfully, J. Van Ness Philip, 

Assistant Chief of Bureau. 
Mr. William H. Phipps, 

Attorney at law, Paulding, Ohio. 



Facts about Isle of Pines. 

[By residents and property owners.] 

Nueva Gerona, Isle of Pines, May 27, 1902. 
Hon. Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. : 

With the desire to correct serious misapprehensions regarding the 
Isle of Pines, its possibilities, agricultural and otherwise, due to the 
publication of unreliable articles and hastily prepared official reports, 
The Isle of Pines Property Owners and Residents League, after 
appointing a committee of citizens familiar with the situation and with 
due consideration and investigation, they to make the following 
statement: 

A report on the Isle of Pines, prepared in the Division of Insular 
Affairs of the War Department, contains many misleading statements, 
and since no agricultural experts or others competent of judging the 
capabilities of the island in the way of fruits, vegetables, and agricul- 
tural products has ever visited the island we take the liberty of mak- 
ing the following comments: 

Aside from the minor mistakes as to distances, area, etc. , contained 
therein, which are evidence in themselves of the unreliability of the 
report, we specially desire to call attention to and combat the state- 
ments contained in a section of the report headed "Agricultural 
resources." 

This section contains the following paragraph: 

Of the land lying north of the Cienaga, the swamp and low grounds covered with 
mangroA^es is estimated at 25 per cent, the savannas covered with these mangroves 
and scrub palmettos at 25 per cent, land of doubtful value 10 per cent, rich land 10 
per cent, mountains and steep hills at 5 per cent, pine lands unsuitable for agricul- 
ture at 25 per cent. 

The first statement contained in the above item it so inaccurate as to 
lead to the conclusion that its author could not have possibly made a 
personal investigation of the subject of which he writes. 

Instead of 25 per cent lying north of the Cienaga being low ground 
covered with mangroves the area answering to this description will 
not exceed 2 per cent. 

The savannas (or prairie land lying between the low land and the 
mountains) mentioned in this section are entirely destitute of man- 
groves, which (mangroves) fringe only the seacoast and the banks of 
tidewater rivers. 

If of lands of doubtful agricultural value is meant land that is unpro- 
ductive of any kind of crops, we must emphatically challenge the esti- 



ISLE OF PINES. 123 

mate, for aside from the mounds and steep hills which do not cover 
an area of anything like 5 per cent of that area, it would be difficult to 
find 1 per cent of the flat rolling land (which constitutes a major por- 
tion of the formation of the island) that is not adapted to some kind of 
fruits, vegetables, or agricultural cultivation. 

The 25 per cent of pine land, as is described as being unsuitable for 
agriculture, has been shown by the long experiments of the native 
planters and recent experiments by American settlers to be especially 
well adapted for the culture of all kinds of citrus fruits, which are 
among the most profitable products which a tropical country can 
produce. 

A special feature of the island is a vast quantity of the land known 
to the natives as "peridigon," which is described in another paragraph 
of the report as "barren red gravel." 

A little investigation upon some of the older plantations of the 
island would have convinced the author of the report that this "barren 
red gravel" produces as fine oranges, lemons, pineapples, and other 
tropical fruits as can be grown throughout the West Indies or in any 
other fruit-producing districts of the United States, its chemical proper- 
ties and its power for retaining moisture, together with the desirable 
qualities of its clay base and subsoil of sandy loam, present a combi- 
nation which is unsurpassed. 

In another section of this report the area of the island is given as 
986 square miles, including the Cienaga. 

A printed description of the island contained in the encyclopedia, with 
other standard authorities, give the area of the island as containing 
1,210 square miles. There is no recent survey of the island known to 
have been made, and we are at a loss to know where the author of 
the report prepared in the Division of Insular Affairs of the War 
Department obtained his revised figures. 

In addition to the above inaccuracies may be mentioned the distance 
given in the report between Nueva Gerona and Santa Fe as 15 miles, 
while the distance is universally known to be 11 miles; also the height 
of the principal mountain of the island, Sierra de Caballos, is given 
as 1,074 feet, whereas it is actually 600 feet higher, exceeding the 
height of Sierra Canava by 24 feet, which is given the first place by 
the author. 

In conclusion, we desire to contradict the general impression which 
prevails throughout the United States regarding the depth of water 
around the Isle of Pines, which is always referred to as too shallow 
for ocean-going vessels to use. 

Within a few miles of Nueva Gerona, to the east, is a harbor into 
which vessels drawing 20 feet of water can enter; another a few miles 
to the west of the same point will admit vessels drawing from 20 to 25 
feet of water; several harbors on the west side of the island will also 
admit vessels drawing the same and more water, while to the south of 
the island the waters are very deep, and since railroad building is an 
every-day occurrence these days there is absolutely no foundation at 
all to the general impression prevailing throughout the United States 
that deep-water vessels can not touch at this island. 

With an expenditure of one-tenth that expended at New York Har- 
bor annually, clearing the sand bar at the mouth of the Casas River 
and at the mouth of the Jucaro River, all ordinary ocean-going vessels 
can enter these rivers, bringing their cargoes to the concentrated point 



124 ISLE OF PINES. 

without the need of railroad building; but if this can not be done rail- 
roads can and will be built to connect the centrally populated districts 
with deep-water harbors. 

Charles Raynaud, Secretary. 
Approved: 

T. J. Keenan, Chairman. 



The President: 

I have the honor to return the following resolution of the Senate, 
dated February 16, 1903— 

Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested, if in his judgement 
the same be not incompatible with the public interests, to inform the Senate as to 
the present status of the Isle of Pines, and what government is exercising authority 
and control in said island; what instructions, if any, regarding said island were given 
at the time when the military occupation of Cuba by the United States was termin- 
ated; and what action, if any, has been taken for the protection of the interests of 
citizens of the United States who have purchased property and settled in the Isle of 
Pines — 

with the following information appearing upon the files of the War 
Department: 

The present status of the Isle of Pines is shown by the sixth article 
of the enactment commonly known as the Piatt amendment, contained 
in the army appropriation act of March 2, 1901, as follows — 

That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional bound- 
aries of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty — 

and in the sixth article of the appendix to the Cuban constitution, as 
follows — 

Article 6. The Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the boundaries of Cuba specified 
in the constitution, the title of ownership thereof being left to future adjustment by 
treaty. (See Report of the Secretary of War, 1902, p. 121) — 

and in the provisions of the instrument transferring the Government 
of Cuba to the President and Congress elected by the people thereof 
on the 20th day of May, 1902, as follows: 

It is understood by the United States that the present government of the Isle of 
Pines will continue as a de facto government pending the settlement of the title to 
the said islands by treaty pursuant to the Cuban coustitution and the act of Con- 
gress of the United States, approved March 2, 1901. (See report of the Secretary of 
War, 1902, p. 122. ) 

The nature of the de facto government under which the Isle of Pines 
was thus left pending the determination of the title thereof by treaty 
is shown in the following indorsement upon a copy of the said resolu- 
tion by the late military governor of Cuba: 

[First indorsement.] 

1812 H Street NW., 
Office of the Late Military Government of Ctjba, 

Washington, D. C. , February 20, 1908. 
Respectfully returned to the Bureau of Insular Affairs. At the date of transfer of 
the island of Cuba to its duly elected officials, the Isle of Pines constituted a munic- 
ipality included within the municipalties of the province of Habana and located in 
the judicial district of Bejucal. The government of the island is vested in its munic- 
ipal officers subject to the general control of the civil governor of the province of 
Habana, who is vested under the constitution of Cuba with certain authority in the 
control of municipal affairs. Under the military government of Cuba the Isle of 



ISLE OF PINES. 125 

Pines was governed by municipal officials subject to the general authority of the civil 
governor, who received his authority from the governor-general. The Isle of Pines 
as it had existed under the military government was transferred as ade facto govern- 
ment to the Cuban Republic pending the final settlement of the status of the island 
by treaty between the United States and Cuba. 

The action taken by the military government was in accordance with telegraphic 
orders from the honorable the Secretary of War. The government of the Island 
to-day is in the hands of its municipal officers, duly elected by the people under the 
general control of the civil governor of the province of Habana and the Republic of 
Cuba. As I understand it, the government of the Isle of Pines is vested in the 
Republic of Cuba pending such final action as may be taken by the United States 
and Cuba looking to the ultimate disposition of the island. No special action was 
taken to protect the interests of the citizens of the United States who have purchased 
property and have settled in the Isle of Pines, for the reason that no such action was 
necessary. All Americans in the island are living under exactly the same conditions 
as other foreigners, and if they comply with the laws in force it is safe to say that 
they will not have any difficulty or need special protection. At the time these peo- 
ple purchased property they understood distinctly that the question of ownership 
of the Isle of Pines was one pending settlement, and in locating there they took the 
risks incident to the situation. 

This indorsement by General Wood also answers the question of the 
resolution regarding the protection of interests of citizens of the United 
States, so far as this Department is able to furnish information thereon. 

Elihu Root, 

Secretary of War. 
February 27, 1903. 



[Senate Document No. 201, Fifty-seventh Congress, second session.] 

Message from the President of the United States, transmitting, in 
response to Senate resolution of February 16, 1903, a report from the 
Secretary of War as to the present statxis of the Isle of Pines. 

Febeuaey 28, 1903. — Read; referred to the Committee on Relations with Cuba and ordered to be 

printed. 

To the Senate: 

In response to the resolution of the Senate of February 16, 1903, 
requesting the President, "if, in his judgment, the same be not incom- 
patible with the public interests, to inform the Senate as to the pres- 
ent status of the Isle of Pines, and what government is exercising 
authority and control in said island, what instructions, if any, regard- 
ing said island were given at the time when the military occupation of 
Cuba by the United States was terminated, and what action, if any, 
has been taken for the protection of the interests of citizens of the 
United States who have purchased property and settled in the Isle of 
Pines," I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War. 

Theodore Roosevelt. 

White House, February 28, 1903. 



War Department, 

Washington, February 27, 1903. 
The President: 

I have the honor to return the following resolution of the Senate, 
dated February 16, 1903— 

Resolved, That the President of the United States he requested, if in his judgment 
the same be not incompatible with the public interests, to inform the Senate as to the 



126 ISLE OF PINES. 

present status of the Isle of Pines, and what government is exercising authority and 
control in said island; what instructions, if any, regarding said island were given at 
the time when the military occupation of Cuba by the United States was terminated; 
and what action, if any, has been taken for the protection of the interests of citizens 
of the United States who have purchased property and settled in the Isle of Pines — 

with the following information appearing upon the files of the War 
Department: 

The present status of the Isle of Pines is shown by the sixth article 
of the enactment commonly known as the Piatt amendment, contained 
in the army appropriation act of March 2, 1901, as follows: 

That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries 
of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty ; 

and in the sixth article of the Appendix to the Cuban Constitution, 
as follows: . 

Aet. 6. The Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the boundaries of Cuba specified in 
the constitution, the title of ownership thereof being left to future adjustment by 
treaty (see Eeport of the Secretary of War, 1902, p. 121); 

and in the provisions of the instrument transferring the Government 
of Cuba to the President and Congress elected by the people thereof 
on the 20th day of May, 1902, as follows: 

It is understood by the United States that the present government of the Isle of 
Pines will continue as a de facto government, pending the settlement of the title to 
the said islands by treaty pursuant to the Cuban constitution and the act of Congress 
of the United States approved March 2, 1901. (See Eeport of the Secretary of War, 
1902, p. 122.) 

The nature of the de facto government under which the Isle of Pines 
was thus left pending the determination of the title thereof by treaty is 
shown in the following indorsement upon a copy of the said resolution 
by the late military governor of Cuba: 

[First indorsement.] 

Office of Late Military Government of Cuba, 

Washington, February 20, 1908. 
Eespectfully returned to the Bureau of Insular Affairs. At the date of transfer of 
the island of Cuba to its duly elected officials the Isle of Pines constituted a munici- 
pality included within the municipalities of the province of Habana and located in 
the judicial district of Bejucal. The government of the island is vested in its munici- 
pal officers, subject to the general control of the civil governor of the province 
of Habana, who is vested under the constitution of Cuba with certain authority in 
the control of municipal affairs. Under the military government of Cuba the Isle of 
Pines was governed by municipal officials subject to the general authority of the 
civil governor, who received his authority from the governor-general. The Isle of 
Pines, as it had existed under the military government, was transferred as a de facto 
government to the Cuban Eepublic pending the final settlement of the status of the 
island by treaty between the United States and Cuba. The action taken by the 
military government was in accordance with telegraphic orders from the honorable 
the Secretary of War. The government of the island to-day is in the hands of its 
municipal officers, duly elected by the people, under the general control of the civil 
governor of the province of Habana and the Eepublic of Cuba. As I understand it, 
the government of the Isle of Pines is vested in the Eepublic of Cuba pending such 
final action as may be taken by the United States and Cuba looking to the ultimate 
diposition of the island. No special action was taken to protect the interests of the 
citizens of the United States who have purchased property and have settled in the 
Isle of Pines, for the reason that no such action was necessary. All Americans in 
the island are living under exactly the same conditions as other foreigners, and if 
they comply with the laws in force it is safe to say that they will not have any diffi- 
culty or need special protection. At the time these people purchased property they 
understood distinctly that the question of ownership of the Isle of Pines was one 
pending settlement, and in locating there they took the risks incident to the situation. 



ISLE OF PINES. 127 

This indorsement by General Wood also answers the question of 
the resolution regarding the protection of interests of citizens of the 
United States so far as this Department is able to furnish information 
.thereon. 

Elihu Root, Secretary of War. 



[Senate Document No. 117, Fifty-seventh Congress, second session.] 

Petition of certain residents and property owners of the Isle of Pines 
praying that it he publicly declared, by the proper authority, that the 
Isle of Pines is territory of the United States, etc.; and that steps 
be taken immediately to establish a government in the Isle of Pines 
under the authority of the United States. 

m 
Januaby 27, 1903. — Referred to the Committee on Relations with Cuba and ordered to be printed. 

We, the subscribers, citizens of the United States, property owners 
and residents of the Isle of Pines, respectfully show: 

First. That the Isle of Pines is and has been, since the ratification 
of the treaty of Paris between the United States and Spain, territory 
belonging to the United States. By the language of the treaty "Spain 
relinquishes all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba * * * 
and * * * cedes to the United States the islands of Porto Rico 
and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies." 
In an official letter from the War Department, dated August 14, 1899, 
it was stated, in reply to an inquiry as to the status of the Isle of Pines, 
that " this island was ceded by Spain to the United States and is there- 
fore a part of our territory, although it is attached at present to the 
division of Cuba for governmental purposes * * * and * * * 
the disposition of public lands must await the action of Congress." 

Second. That no sovereignty, jurisdiction, and control over the Isle 
of Pines can be lawfully or rightfully exercised except by the United 
States. 

Third. That such sovereignty, jurisdiction, and control over the Isle 
of Pines were exercised by the United States up to May 20, 1902, by 
the military governor of Cuba, under the direction of the President of 
the United States, in his capacity of Commander in Chief of the Army 
of the United States. 

Fourth. That on May 16, 1902, the said military governor of Cuba 
was directed by the Secretary of War, in contemplation of the approach- 
ing establishment of the Republic of Cuba, on May 20, 1902, with sov- 
ereignty over the island of Cuba to continue "the present government 
of the Isle of Pines as a de facto government." 

Fifth. That, disregarding such direction, the said military governor 
failed to take any steps to continue the then existing government, but 
did, on May 20, 1902, turn over to the authority of the Republic of 
Cuba, as on that day established, full control over the Isle of Pines. 

Sixth. That since May 20, 1902, the Government of the Republic of 
Cuba has continued to exercise all the functions of government in the 
Isle of Pines. 

Seventh. That the exercise of such functions of government by the 
Republic of Cuba is without warrant under the constitution of that 
Republic, by which instrument the Isle of Pines is expressly excluded 
from the constitutional limits of the Republic. 



128 ISLE OF PINES. 

Eighth. That in the exercise of the authority thus usurped the 
Cuban Government has levied and collected, and continues to levy and 
collect, oppressive taxes in the Isle of Pines, the proceeds of which 
are remitted to and expended in the island of Cuba. 

Ninth. That no provision is made by the usurping Government for 
the adequate administration of justice in the Isle of Pines, and that 
such government as is there maintained is inefficient, inadequate, and 
unreliable. 

Wherefore, the subscribers who, relying on the statement and the 
official assurance that the island is territory of the United States, have 
settled in the Isle of Pines, and who have invested large sums of money 
there in the purchase and improvement of real properties, now claim 
from the Government of the United States the protection due to 
American citizens on American territory and respectfully pray — 

First. That it be publicly declared by the proper authority that the 
Isle of Pines is territory of the United States, and that as such it can 
not be ceded to any other sovereignty except by the Congress of the 
United States. 

Second. That steps be taken immediately to establish a government 
in the Isle of Pines, under the authority of the United States. 

Third. That pending the establishment of such government the 
Republic of Cuba, and all persons acting or claiming to act under its 
authority, be restrained from levying and collecting duties, imposts, 
and taxes of any kind, and from exercising any of the rights and 
functions of government, except so far as may be necessary to keep 
the peace within the island. 

Fourth. That on relinquishing control of the island the Cuban Gov- 
ernment be required to account to the United States for all duties, 
imposts, and taxes of all kinds levied and collected in the Isle of Pines, 
or from residents thereof, since May 20, 1902, and that the net product 
of such taxes be turned over to such government as may be established 
in the island under the authority of the United States. 
And your petitioners will ever pray. 

Isle of Pines Co., 
By S. H. Pearcy, Vice-President. 
S. H. Pearcy. 

The Alma cigas Springs Land Co., 
By C. M. Johnson, Secretary. 
C. M. Johnson. 
The Santa Fe Land Co., 
By R. T. Wall, President. 
Robert T. Wall. 
E. J. Pearcy. 
W. E. Yocum. 



[Memorandum for Colonel Edwards on status of the Isle of Pines, submitted by Lieutenant McCoy.] 

Washington, D. C, February 18, 1903. 

For a number of years the Isle of Pines has formed a separate muni- 
cipal district of the Province of Habana. It has been a part of the 
judicial district of Bejucal of the same province. 

During the American intervention there were no United States 



ISLE OP PTNES. 129 

troops in that island. Military authority was exercised through the 
civil governor of Habana and the alcalde of the municipal district. 
This form of control has continued under the present Cuban Govern- 
ment, said control having been transferred from the military gov- 
ernment to the present government on the 20th of Ma} r , with the 
proviso as accepted by them in the Piatt amendment. 

Colonists going to the Isle of Pines during the American interven- 
tion usually asked questions as to the sovereignty of the island, and 
were always informed that the ownership was a matter for future set- 
tlement between the American and the Cuban Governments. 

Descriptive reports, geological and material, are included in the 
various annual reports of the military governor, and several recent 
ones are on file in this office should you care to refer to them. 



January 31, 1903. 
The Secretary of War: 

Sir: I have the honor to inclose for your consideration copy of a 
dispatch from the United States minister to Cuba forwarding copy of 
a petition handed to him unofficially by Mr. James E. Runcie, repre- 
senting certain American interests on the Isle of Pines. 

1 have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

John Hay. 

[First indorsement.] 

Bureau of Insular Affairs, 

Washington, D. C. , February 3, 1903. 
Respectfully referred to Brig. Gen. Leonard Wood, U. S. Army, 
late military governor of Cuba, 1812 H street NW. , Washington, D. C. , 
for such remark as he may care to make, with return of these papers. 

C. R. Edwards, 
Colonel, U. S. Army, Chief of Bureau. 

[Second indorsement.] 

Office of Late Military Government of Cuba, 

Washington, D. C, February 6, 1903. 
Respectfully returned to the Bureau of Insular Affairs. 
From my knowledge of the situation in the Isle of Pines there are 
no particular difficulties to be apprehended. 

The government of the Isle of Pines was left exactly as directed by 
the War Department. The petitioners are in error in making state- 
ments to the contrary, as records of the War Department will show. 
I believe it is desirable the status of the Isle of Pines be definitely 
settled at as early a date as possible. 

Leonard Wood, 
Brigadier- General, U. S. Army. 



February 3, 1903. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of Jan- 
uary 31, inclosing copy of a dispatch from the United States minister 
S. Doc. 205, 59-1 9 



130 ISLE OF PIKES. 

to Cuba forwarding copy of a petition handed to him, unofficially, by 
Mr. James E. Runcie, representing certain American interests in the 
Isle of Fines. 

Very respectfully, Elihu Root, 

Secretary of War. 
The Secretary of State. 



No. 382.] Legation of the United States, 

Habana, Cuba, January 22, 1903. 
Hon. John Hay, 

Secretary of State, Washington, I). C. 

Sir: I have the honor to inclose to you copy of a petition which 
was handed me unofficially by James E. Runcie, esq., attornej^ repre- 
senting certain large American interests in the Isle of Pines. The 
original of the petition, with the signatures, is to be sent to you direct, 
as I am informed. 

Major Runcie appeared to be somewhat apprehensive as to the policy 
of the United States Government regarding the island and impressed 
me that his clients were ready to adopt heroic measures to force the 
United States to settle the question as contemplated by Article VI of 
the Piatt amendment. He declared his clients would resist any effort 
on the part of the Cuban Government to collect taxes on their prop- 
erty or to enforce &ny judgment of the courts against it, even to the 
extent of armed resistance; that Cuban jurisdiction must be suspended 
until the future -status of the island is finally fixed by treaty. I cau- 
tioned Major Runcie against any violent resistence to the existing 
Government, in which, as he well knows, they could not have the sup- 
port or protection of the United States. 

I mentioned the matter to the President and Mr. Zaldo. The former 
had heard nothing of the dissatisfaction, but said he hoped the future 
status of the island might be settled immediately and at the same time 
as the question of coaling and naval station. Mr. Zaldo said, how- 
ever, that there had been but one unimportant case of refusal to pay 
taxes, and that he had directed that this man (an American) be pro- 
ceeded against in ordinary course. He said he had but eight rural 
guards there, but if necessary would send more. I advised him to use 
every moderation in dealing with these people, and pointed out to him 
the difficulties sure to arise if anything serious happened or if loss of 
life occurred. He considers there is great danger in permitting the 
settlement of Cuba by communities or colonies of Americans, who 
may not make the most law-abiding citizens, particularly in the cases 
in which they may consider their interests are threatened, and seemed 
inclined to recommend to Congress some special legislation on the 
subject. 

Major Runcie states that there are some 300 Americans on the Island 
of Pines, who own about one-third of the whole area, and that there 
are about 200 nonresident American landowners. He estimates 
American invested interests at $500,000. 

The anxiety of the Cuban Government to settle the status of this 



ISLE OF PINES. 131 

island makes the time very opportune for such settlement in connec- 
tion with the question of coaling and naval stations. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

H. G. Squiers. 

[Inclosure: Petition. For letter of Runcie's, see petition referred 
to, published in Senate Doc. 117, 57th Cong., 2d sess., herewith]. 



St. Louis, Mo., March 5, 1903. 
Hon. Elihu Root, 

Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. 

My Dear Sir: In your report to Congress regarding the status of 
the Isle of Pines the newspapers make you say that this island is "con- 
trolled by the Cuban Government." This seems to be misleading to 
the general public. Those of us who own land there believe that the 
following is true: 

First: That the island was ceded to the United States. 

Second. That the Piatt amendment excludes the island from the con- 
stitutional boundaries of Cuba, and the title thereto was left for future 
adjustment by treaty. 

Third. That when General Wood left the island Cuba was asked to 
exercise temporary authority over it. 

Fourth. That this status of the island has never been changed. If 
you will kindly inform me whether or not we are correct in these 
opinions you will place me in a position to enable me to state facts, 
and will greatly oblige, 

Yours, very sincerely, 



3957 Cook avenue. 



March 13, 1903. 
Sir: By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to 
acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 10th instant, requesting cer- 
tain information in regard to the Isle of Pines, and inform you that 
your communication has been referred to the honorable the Secretary 
of State, to whose Department this matter pertains. 
Very respectfully, 

J. Van Ness Philip, 

Assistant Chief of Bureau. 
Mr. W. H. Hassler, 

2303 Franklin avenue, St. Louis, Mo. 

[First indorsement.] 

War Department, 
Bureau of Insular Affairs, 

Washington, D. C, March 13, 1903. 
Respectfully referred to the chief clerk of the State Department and 
the writer so advised. 

J. Van Ness Philip, 

Assistant Chief of Bureau* 



132 isle of pines. 

November 30, 1903. 
My Dear Colonel Edwards: An attorney in New York by the 
name of Lenney has brought an action against the collector of the port 
of New York, denying the right of this Government to collect duty on 
goods from the Isle of Pines, because it is United States property, in 
which he is going, of course, to fail. For a year or two, as you well 
know, he has been stirring up that matter in behalf of Americans who 
have gone down there, claiming that these parties were told by the 
War Department that the title to the Isle of Pines was in the United 
States. I always supposed that there was simply a verbal statement 
made by Meiklejohn, but Lenney says: 

On August 10, 1899, George Bridges wrote to the War Department seeking informa- 
tion respecting the Isle of Pines and asked: "Does it come in as Porto Rico or under 
same conditions as Cuba? I expect to go there in November, and for this informa- 
tion I would thank you in advance." 

To which the War Department replied, on August 14, as follows : 

Referring to your communication of August 10, soliciting information respecting 
the Isle of Pines, I am directed by the Assistant Secretary of War to advise you that 
this island was ceded by Spain to the United States and is therefore a part of our 
territory, although it is attached at present to the division of Cuba for governmental 
purposes. A copy of The Isle of Pines is inclosed for your information, and you are 
advised that the disposition of public lands must await the action of Congress. 
Very respectfully, 

John J. Pershing, 
Assistant Adjutant-General. 

Was such a letter written? 
Yours, verv truly, 

O. H. Platt. 
Col. Clarence R. Edwards, 

War Department, Washington, D. C. 



December 5, 1903. 
My Dear Senator: In answer to your letter of November 30, let 
me quote a copy of a letter which I find on file in the Bureau of Insular 
Affairs: 

War Department, 
Washington, August 14, 1899. 
Sir: Referring to your communication of the 10th instant, soliciting information 
respecting the Isle of Pines, I am directed by the Assistant Secretary of War to 
advise you that this island was ceded by Spain to the United States and is therefore 
a part of our territory, although it is attached at present to the Division of Cuba for 
governmental purposes. 

A copy of an official report of the Isle of Pines is inclosed for your information and 
you are advised that the disposition of public lands must await the action of Congress. 
Very respectfully, 

John J. Pershing, 
Assistant Adjutant-General. 
Mr. George Bridges, Carlisle, Pa. 

The answer that has always been made to such inquiries since I have 
been in the office, and by direction of the Secretary of War, Root, has 
been to say that it was a question that must await the determination of 
the legislative branch; that no Executive Department was authorized 



ISLE OP PINES. 133 

to decide the same. However, in view of our present pending treaty, 
why isn't Assistant Secretary Meiklejohn's decision proper? 
Very truly, yours, 

Clarence R. Edwards. 
Hon. O. H. Platt, 

Chairman Committee on Relations with Cuba, 

United States Senate. 



December 16, 1903,, 
The Secretary of War. 

Sir: I have the honor to inclose for your information copy of a let- 
ter from Mr. William Flindt and others and of the Department's 
reply relative to the status of the Isle of Pines. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

Alvet A. Adee, 

Acting Secretary. 

(Inclosures from William Flindt and others, December 8, 1903. To 
same, December 15, 1903.) 



December 19, 1903. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of 
your communication of the 16th instant transmitting, for the informa 
tion of this Department, copy of a letter from Mr. William Flindt 
and others and of the reply of your Department relative to the status 
of the Isle of Pines. 

Very respectfully, Elihu Root, 

Secretary of War. 
The Secretary of State. 



Spencer, Iowa, December 8, 1903. 
Hon. John Hay, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: We desire to call your attention to the following facts 
in relation to the possession of the Isle of Pines, viz: That by the 
treaty of Paris Spain relinquished all claim over and title to Cuba by 
article 1 of said treaty; article 2 of the same treaty reads as follows: 

Spain concedes to the United States the island of Porto Eico and other islands now 
under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and the Island of Guam in the 
Marianas or Ladrones. 

On August 10, 1899, George Bridges wrote the War Department 
seeking information respecting the Isle of Pines and asked: 

Does it come in as Porto Rico pr under the same condition as Cuba? I expect to 
go there in November, and for this information I would thank you in advance. 

to which the War Department replied on August 14, 1899, as follows: 

Referring to your communication of August 10, instant, soliciting information 
respecting the Isle of Pines, I am directed by the Assistant Secretary of War to advise 
you that this island was ceded by Spain to the United States and is therefore a part 
of our territory, although it is attached at present to the Division of Cuba for gov- 
ernmental purposes. A copy of the Isle of Pines is inclosed for your information 
and you are advised that the disposition of public lands must await the action of 
Congress. 

"Very respectfully, John J. Perching, 

Assistant Adjutant-General. 



134 ISLE OF PINES. 

It was with the understanding and pursuant to such general infor- 
mation as contained in the foregoing letter that the undersigned, with 
others, invested in the Isle of Pines, some of whom are now residents 
of the island and are continuing to invest and make improvements 
upon the island. In all fairness to the American citizens living upon 
and interested in the Isle of Pines and in the interests of the Cubans 
of the isle, we are unalterably of the opinion that the Isle of Pines 
should remain American territory. We believe also that such would 
be in the interests of the people of Cuba and Cuban Government. 

Hoping that this matter will receive candid and serious consideration, 
we are, 

Respectfully, yours, William Flindt. 

E. L. Dickey. 

D. C. Gillispie. 

P. M. Ingald. 

A. F. Lamae. 

Homer Wise. 

H. R. Henderson. 

Franklin Thete. (?) 

Geo. Phelps. 



Department of State, 

Washington, December 15, 1903. 

William Flindt, Esq., and others, Spencer, Iowa. 

Gentlemen: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 
the 8th instant, in which you quote a letter said to have been written 
to Mr. George Bridges on August 14, 1899, by the Assistant Adjutant- 
General of the United States Army, stating that the Isle of Pines was 
United States territory, and add that you are of opinion that it should 
remain so. 

In reply I have to say that the statements represented to have been 
made by the Assistant Adjutant-General of the War Department were 
ex parte, and were made before the Congress of the United States, 
by the so-called Piatt amendment to the war appropriation act of March 
2, 1901, took the question of the title to the Isle of Pines out of the 
control of the military authorities and relegated to the treaty making 
power the adjustment of the title to the Isle of Pines. 

The sixth article of the Piatt amendment reads as follows: 

That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries 
of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty. 

1 am, gentlemen, your obedient servant, 

Alvet A. Adee, 

Acting Secretary. 



ISLE OF PINES. 135 

Copies of papers from the files of the late military governor of Cuba. 

Headquarters Department of the 
Province of Habana and Pinar del Rio, 

Office Disbursing Officer, 
Quemados, Cuba, April W, 1900. 
The Adjutant-General, 

Department of the Province of Habana and Pinar del Rio. 

Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report of my recent 
visit to the Isle of Pines, on duty connected with the municipal deficit, 
and also verbal instructions from the department commander. 

I first visited Nueva Gerona, the municipal seat for the entire island, 
there being but one alcalde and other civil officials for the island. 

The general sanitary condition of Nueva Gerona was excellent; 
streets clean, and several interiors which I visited in good sanitary 
condition. I visited the schools, which were clean, neat, and orderly, 
much better than any I have seen on the island of Cuba. The school 
furniture has not yet arrived, but they were getting along as best they 
could with their benches. Salaries paid to April 1. All the children 
required to go to school. 

Inspected the Spanish barracks. Building in excellent order. Can 
accommodate a battalion of infantry. 

Water supply for the town comes from a fine spring in the town 
limits. There seemed to be very little activity or trade going on, 
although the alcalde informed me that the people were prosperous. 

Investigated the case of two Americans who had made complaint of 
interference on the part of civil officials with their settling on some 
supposed (by them) public lands. I first questioned these two Ameri- 
cans before 1 saw the alcalde, and learned from them that they had 
gone to Habana and seen the secretary of agriculture, who told them 
to go ahead and settle on the land. They, however, had no papers or 
authority in writing for this. After going on this land and clearing 
off a small part of it they commenced to burn the brush, and on this 
being observed by the civil officials the Americans were arrested, 
brought to immediate trial, and fined $50, which fine was, however, 
afterwards remitted. On questioning the alcalde about this matter 
afterwards, in the presence of the Americans, I learned that it is 
necessary, according to the law, for anyone who desires to burn brush, 
etc., to notify the civil officials, so that proper steps may be taken to 
prevent the spread of fire. The Americans violated the law, and the 
arrest was probably made legally. I also afterwards learned that the 
land on which they had squatted was not public land, as the Ameri- 
cans supposed it to be, but belonged to a private citizen. In conclu- 
sion, I am of the opinion that the Americans had no just ground for 
complaint, and that the civil officials had shown considerable for- 
bearance. I however took this occasion to say to the alcalde that he 
must be very careful, on account of his isolated position, in adminis- 
tering the laws, to see that justice was shown to everybody of what- 
soever nationality. 

I was informed by the alcalde that Captain Gerhardt, U. S. Army, 
who recently visited the Isle of Pines inspecting jails, had some unoffi- 
cial conversation with the civil officials as to whether or not the people 
of the Isle of Pines preferred to belong to the Island of Cuba or the 
United States, which seems to have aroused in the minds of these peo- 



136 ISLE OE PINES- 

pie and officials some question as to the exact status of the Isle of 
Pines. They seemed to be quite suspicious about this matter and did 
not understand the situation, but expressed a strong preference toward 
belonging to the island of Cuba if any issue should arise. I told them 
that, so far as I knew, such a question had not arisen; that the island 
of Cuba, and all other islands which belonged to Spain at the time of 
the transfer of Spanish sovereignty to the United States, were at 
present under the control of the United States through its War 
Department, and this condition would continue until such time as our 
Government deemed proper to adjust the entire situation; that the 
Government of the United States was absolutely responsible to the 
world for the peace, quietude, and good behaviour of the people of 
the islands which were turned over by Spain; that the question as to 
the future disposition of these islands would come up in due time; 
that all that is necessary for the time being for the people of the Isle 
of Pines to do is simply to obey the existing laws, recognize the 
supreme authority of the United States Government, till the soil, edu- 
cate the people, and build their country up. This conversation took 
place between the alcalde, Major Dudley, and myself. 

There also seemed to be some feeling on the part of the people about 
the alcalde and some of the officials not being the people of the isle, 
these officials having been sent to the island from Cuba. I said this 
matter would adjust itself at the next election. They told me that 
there were five candidates in the field for alcalde. I asked if they 
anticipated any friction at the time of the election, and they told me no. 

It is 1 2 miles from Nueva Gerona to Santa Fe over fairly good road 
(I did not go this way, but went around by water to Santa Fe). The 
alcalde informed me that several of the bridges between these two 
points were in bad repair, and requested $300 for the purchase of 
material to put these bridges in order; that the law required every 
inhabitant to furnish so much labor or money to keep roads and 
bridges in repair, and that, if the material was furnished them, the 
law would be enforced and the people made to do the work. I there- 
fore recommend that for this road an allotment of $300 be made for 
the purchase of material for the repair of bridges. 

I recommend also that the chief quartermaster be directed to ship 
on bill of lading from the supply on hand, for issue to poor Cubans, 
50 axes, 50 hoes, and 50 machetes, for distribution among the poorer 
classes in and about Nueva Gerona. 

I went from Nueva Gerona around to the mouth of the Santa Fe 
River by steamboat (the revenue-cutter Viking), took a small boat up 
the river to Jucaro, about 8 miles from the mouth, and thence over- 
land to Santa Fe, a distance of 6 miles from Jucaro, through the pine 
woods, a very pretty drive. 

At Jucaro there is nothing but a broken-down wharf and one small 
warehouse, with one family living near by in a hut. 

The population of Santa Fe is about 400, a very attractive little 
place. The medicinal springs (three) are right in the town. Bathing 
facilities for those taking the waters are clean and neat. Found several 
families at the hotel who told me they had been greatly benefited by 
the water. 

Santa Fe has two schools, the same satisfactory condition I found 
those in at Nueva Gerona. 

The alcalde informed me that the people are very lazy. I learned 



ISLE OF PINES. 137 

incidentally that they won't even raise their own garden truck or catch 
their own fish. I only saw one small garden on the island. 

At Santa Fe there is a very good hotel, with accommodations for 15 
guests. 

Inspected the police. They told me that they had not made an arrest 
for over four months, the last case a negro for getting drunk. From 
all appearances the people were too lazy even to get into trouble. 

Santa Fe is a part of the municipality of Nueva Gerona. 

Bridges in and about Santa Fe broken down and can not be used. 
It is recommended that an allotment of $300 be made for the purchase 
of material to repair these bridges under the same conditions as the 
allotment made for similar work in Nueva Gerona. Also that the chief 
quartermaster ship to Santa Fe 25 axes, 25 hoes, and 25 machetes for 
the poorer classes. 

I was accompanied on my visits to Nueva Gerona and Santa Fe by 
Major Dudley, judge-advocate of the division; the captain of the reve- 
nue cutter; and Mr. Metcalf, special agent of the Treasury Depart- 
ment, who took part with me in conversation with the officials. 

As to the general condition of affairs, I am of the opinion that our 
visit to the island was more or less beneficial. 

Considering the entire matter, I think it would be advisable, in view 
of the coming elections, to send to the island, under a selected officer, 
a small detachment of 6 or 8 men. There should be 4 or 5 horses in 
the party so that the surrounding country might be visited. This 
small detachment could be quartered in the Spanish barracks at Nueva 
Gerona, where there are ample accommodations. I saw no American 
flag flying on the island, the only one I saw being pinned over a back 
window in one of the schools. 

From all I saw on the island I am satisfied that it is capable of being 
quite productive, there being immense mountains of marble and fine 
timber land, and the warm springs and abundance of excellent cold 
water make it attractive as a health resort. 
Very respectfully, 

H. J. Slocum, 
Captain, Seventh Cavalry, Disbursing Officer. 



Habana, Cuba, July 27, 1900. 
Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, 

Quemados. 
Dear Sir: Will you kindly say if the Isle of Pines is United States 
territory, and if the public domain, formerly Crown land under Spanish 
rule, is now subject to be located on by squatters until such a time as 
Congress legislates regarding homestead entries. Kindly let me hear 
as soon as possible, and oblige, 

Ed Harrington, 
Assistant, Engineer Department, 3 Tacon. 

What I want to know is, if a man will be molested by the rural 
guards if he locates on this Crown land? 



138 ISLE OF PINES. 

[First indorsement.] 

Headquarters Department of Western Cuba, 

Quemados, Cuba, July 30, 1900. 
Respectfully forwarded to the adjutant-general, Division of Cuba, 
for the consideration of the military governor, not knowing the present 
status of the Isle of Pines. 

Fitz Lee, 
Brigadier- General Commanding. 

[Second indorsement.] 

Headquarters Division of Cuba, 

Habana, August °2, 1900. 
Respectfully referred, .by direction of the military governor, to the 
secretary of state and government. 

H. L. Scott, 
Assistant Adjutant- General. 

[Translation.] 
[Second indorsement.] 

Department of State and Government, 

Habana, August 10, 1900. 
Respectfully returned the within report to headquarters with report. 

1. That the Isle of Pines is an integral part of the territory of the 
island of Cuba and constitutes a municipal termino under the jurisdic- 
tion of the civil governor of the province of Habana, of which it forms 
a part, in conformity with the first annexed note of the royal decree 
of the 9th of June, 1878, and it pertains also to the judicial district of 
Bejucal, within the jurisdiction of the audiencia of Habana. 

A part of the said information is contained on page 14 of the Census 
of the Island of Cuba. 

2. In so far as the rural guard is concerned this department can 
report nothing, inasmuch as the said police organization is under the 
direction of the heads of the military departments. 

Diego Tamato. 

[Fourth indorsement.] 

Headquarters Dtvision oF Cuba, 

Habana, August 16, 1900. 
Respectfully forwarded to the Adjutant-General of the Army for a 
decision, in view of the statements of the secretary of state and gov- 
ernment, as well as the provisions contained in the treaty of Paris. 

H. L. Scott, Adjutant- General. 
(In the absence of the Division Commander.) 

[Fifth indorsement.] 

War Department, 
Office of the Secretary, 
Division of Customs and Insular Affairs, 

Washington, September 10, 1900. 
Respectfully returned to the military governor of Cuba, with the 
information that Department has received numerous letters upon the 



ISLE OF PTNES. 139 

subject from the writer of the within communication, and as, owing 
to its political nature, it is a question to be determined by Congress 
and the Executive, he was advised on July 3 last to the effect that this 
was a matter the determination of which does not lie within the prov- 
ince of this or any other Executive Department. 
By order of the Secretary of War: 

Clarence E. Edwards, 
Lieutenant- Colonel Forty-seventh Infantry, U. S. Volunteers, 

Acting Assistant Adjutant- General. 



[Translation.] 

Office of Secretary of State and Government, 

Habana, February 25, 1902. 
The Mdlitart Governor of the Island of Cuba: 

Under date of the 19th instant the civil governor of this province 
says to me as follows: 

The municipal mayor of the Isle of Pines, in a communication bearing date of the 
10th instant, received to-day, says to this Government as follows: 

"There has been presented at this office, signed by 96 property holders and mer- 
chants of this city, a petition protesting against a certain individual who is engaged 
in getting signatures from its residents, petitioning the government never to haul 
down the American flag from this island; and this ayuntamiento, at its meeting of 
the 8th instant, resolved to communicate this incident to you for the information 
of the superior authority. 

"On having the honor to convey to you this resolution of our ayuntamiento, I 
must add that, as a matter of fact, a certain American citizen has been going about 
gathering signatures for the transfer of the register of property to this island, and, in 
in the same breath, in support of the petition arousing the protest above alluded to. 

"These signatures have been secured on blank paper, to be subsequently attached 
to the petition for the transfer of the register of property, to which everybody here 
is perfectly agreeable, and yet this manner of obtaining the signatures must, no 
doubt, have led to confusion on the part of the signers, who thought they were giv- 
ing their signatures in support of the petition for the transfer of the property register, 
while it is possible that they may be used for the indorsement of the other petition 
regarding the nonhauling down of the American flag from this island at no time in 
the future. 

"These circumstances should be borne in mind so as to divest of all importance the 
petition giving cause for the aforementioned protest, for the complained-of petition 
certainly does not reflect the real state of public opinion here with reference to a 
question which is fraught with so much importance for the future of this territory, 
which in all respects is considered here as part integral of the island of Cuba." 

Which I have the honor to transmit to you, begging that you will inform the mil- 
itary governor thereof. 

Respectfully, Diego Tamato, 

Secretary. 



Headquarters Department of Cuba, 

Office of the Adjutant- General, Haoana. 

Notes on Bay of Siguanea for Colonel Whitney. 

Observations during day spent in Bay of Siguanea, March 12, 1901. 
Had soundings made in both entrances and entirely around bay. Made 
landings from launch near mouth Indian River and on Punta Piedra. 
Tramped island and across peninsula from Punta Piedra. 



140 ISLE OF PINES. 

Entered through north channel aboard Kanawha, which draws 1\ 
feet of water. 

Entrance could be defended by guns placed on Indian Keys and 
Indian Point; ground high enough at both places. 

Highest ground around bay extends from Indian Point south to the 
swamp; well timbered; quantities of jucaro and jique, best hard wood 
for construction; especially valuable for piledriving. 

First point inside of bay east of Cape Frances is called Punta Piedra 
or Stony Point; is most favorable point for harbor, docks, etc. Well- 
sheltered harbor is possible with dredging. Ground rises abruptly 
from water to a height of from 40 to 50 feet in the center of the penin- 
sula. Bottom of bay dead coral rock. 

Two miles southwest across peninsula is Puerto Frances. A good 
anchorage, except when wind blows from south. At present station of 
charcoal burners. Would have to be defended to protect any station 
at Punta Piedra from being taken in rear. 

The few inhabitants state the whole peninsula healthy and free 
from malaria. The peninsula is of coral rock formation, and well 
timbered, jucaro, jique, and other hard woods plentiful. 

The south point of Indian Keys and Cape Frances are of coral rock 
formation and would make good foundations for defenses. 

At west entrance of bay of Siguanea a narrow bar extends from 
Cape Frances to Indian Keys. Soundings in both entrances and 
throughout the bay confirm soundings as given in official chart pub- 
lished by Bureau of Equipment, Navy Department. 

Frank McCoy, 

Aid-de- Camp. 

Isle of Pines, May 6, 1902. 
Col. H. L. Scott, Adjutant- General. 

Sir: From information I have just received, there is a scheme on 
foot here, formed by the Noder party, to proclaim on the 20th of May 
a republic separate from the island of Cuba, to be called the "Isle of 
Pines Republic." 

Whether the information 1 have received is trustworthy I am unable 
to say, but think it my duty to let you know concerning this. 

My informant also informs me that the flag to be raised is already 
made, differing somewhat from the Cuban flag, and has been made at 
a house in Calle de Sanja, or Calle de Sangre, Hab'ana. 

If you think anything of this matter, I may further say that some 
of the prime movers of this scheme are the sons of Francisco Betan- 
court, of 191 Neptuna, Habana, and a schoolmaster of Batabano, who 
is frequently here. 

I am, sir, yours respectfully, 

Fredk. J. Davies. 



Nueva Gerona, Isle of Pines, May 8, 1902. 
Governor Leonard E. Wood, 

Governor- GeneraVs Palace, Habana, Cuba. 
Dear Sir: In view of the information given to Mr. Tichenor, presi- 
dent of our company, and several other gentlemen from the Isle of 



ISLE OF PINES. 141 

Pines, a short time ago, to the effect that a military officer would be 
put in charge of the Isle of Pines on or before the 20th of May, I~ 
think it not out of place to remind you of the situation here as it 
appears from rumors. 

The people are making great preparations for a grand banquet and 
demonstration on the 20th, and a crowd of natives, headed by a Spanish 
officer who returned here a few days ago, having as I understand just 
resigned his position in the Spanish army to return here to his family 
and friends, were making a house to house canvass yesterday for funds 
to carry out the demonstration. 

It is rumored that they have a new flag, different from that of Cuba, 
and are going to make a demonstration in favor of an independent 
republic. Some say, however, they are going to demand that the 
island be turned over to Cuba. While all the natives we talk to seem 
to favor annexation to the United States, there seems to be at least two 
parties among them working in different directions, but we are unable 
to get at the facts of either. 

You, no doubt, are aware of the fact that quite a large percentage 
of the people here, even some that are well to do, are ex-convicts, who 
were exiled here years ago and have become residents and raised fam- 
ilies. It is, therefore, not to be expected that they are the best class of 
citizens, and it seems to us it would not be out of place to watch them 
carefully, and we are of the opinion that at least a small force of sol- 
diers should be placed here before the 20th. 

We give you this information confidentially, and you can act as you 
see fit. Trusting, however, that everything may pass quietly and sat- 
isfactorily to the Government, as well as to ourselves, we are, 
Very truly, yours, 

Isle of Pines Co. 

S. H. Pearcy, Vice-President. 



Columbia, Isle of Pines, May 12, 1902. 
General Wood, 

Military Governor, Habana, Cuba. 
Sir: Referring to our interview with you on the 15th ultimo, wherein 
you so kindly assured us that a military governor was to be appointed 
for the Isle of Pines before May 20, and that the records of the island 
now deposited at Bejucal would be transferred to the Isle of Pines 
before you left the palace, I very respectfully ask if there has been 
any change made in this direction. 

As we stated to you then, we are very anxious about the future of 
the island, the lives of ourselves and our families, and the security 
of our capital invested. 

Regarding the matter of the change of the records of this island from 
Bejucal to the Isle of Pines, we feel deeply concerned and fear grave 
complications might arise on account of having to go to Cuba (a for 
eign country after the 20th of May) to register our property; there- 
fore we earnestly pray that this matter by no means be overlooked 
before you leave the palace. 
With great respect, 

Charles Raynard, 
Secretary Isle of Pines Property Otoners and Residents 1 League. 



142 ISLE OF PINES. 

Hon. Leonard Wood, 

Military Governor, etc., Habana. 
Sir: I, the undersigned, George Eugene Bryson, commissioner of 
deeds for the States of New York, Florida, etc., in Cuba — a native of 
North Carolina and late citizen of Florida, a resident for more than 
five years of the island of Cuba — beg to apply for appointment as 
registrar of deeds for the Isle of Pines, with residence at the capital 
thereof, Nueva Gerona. 

I have had large experience in the translation of official documents, 
deeds, etc. , from the Spanish, and know considerable about record 
and abstract work. If named to the post, I can assure you faithful 
and efficient service. 

Very truly, Geo. Eugene Bryson, 

Hotel Pasaje. 



Amargura 77 y 79, 
Hdbana, February 12, 1902. 
Geo. Eugene Bryson, Esq., 

National Hotel, Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: In reply to your favor of February 6, I am pleased to 
say that the work you have done for us during your stay in this city, 
as a translator of legal documents from Spanish into English, has been 
entirely satisfactory, and that it gives me much pleasure in recom- 
mending you, being confident of your capability. 
Yours, very truly, 

M. R. Angulo. 



Habana, Cuba, May 16, 1902. 
Leonard Wood, Esq., 

Military Governor, etc. 
Dear Sir: This company having some 50 or 60 realty transfers in 
the Isle of Pines to make within the next two months, and probably 
more than 200 within the next year, is seriously interested in the early 
transfer of all records pertaining to the titles of land from Cuba to 
the Isle of Pines. 

And in this connection we beg to recommend Mr. George Eugene 
Bryson — a person especially adapted to take charge of this work — to 
be appointed registrar of deeds for the Island of Pines, and we feel 
sure that he would be entirely satisfactory to the natives of the island, 
as well as to the more than 200 Americans owning lands over there. 
Hoping that this matter may have your prompt attention, we beg 
to remain, 

Very truly, yours, 

The Almacigos Springs Land Co., 
Benjamin Mason, President. 
C. M. Johnston, Secretary. 



ISLE OF PINES. 143 

Washington, D. C, May 16, 1902. 
Wood, Habana: ] 

Referring to your dispatches of M.&y 10 and May 14, relating- to the 
Isle of Pines, you are instructed to insert in the declaration of trans- 
fer marked "D," inclosed in my letter of May 3, as amended by my 
letter of May 10, immediately before the concluding clause thereof, 
the following paragraph, viz: 

It is understood by the United States that the present government of the Isle of 
Pines will continue as a de facto government pending the settlement of the title 
to said island by treaty pursuant to the Cuban constitution and the act of Congress 
of the United States approved March 2, 1901. 

Root, Secretary of War. 



Copies of papers from the files of the Adjutant- General's Office relating 

to the Isle of Pines. 

Headquarters Department of the East, 

Office of the Chief Surgeon, 
Governors Island, JV. Y. , May 11, 1898. 
The Surgeon-General, United States Army, 

Washington, D. C. 
Sir: Should a large number of prisoners be captured in Cuba by our 
forces during the present war, the question as to the best disposition 
to be made of them will necessarily become an important one, and, to 
some extent, a hygienic one. 

I therefore venture to invite attention to the Isle of Pines, which 
I consider an ideal place in which to confine such Spaniards as may 
fall into our hands. This island is situated south of and near the 
western extremity of Cuba, is about the size of the State of Rhode 
Island, and has for some years been used by the Spaniards as a penal 
colony for political suspects. 

One hundred thousand prisoners could be turned loose on this island 
without possibility of escape so long as its shores shall be properly 
patrolled. 

More than half of the island is high and salubrious. It would be 
much easier and cheaper to confine prisoners on this island than to take 
them to any point in the United States, and they might eke out the 
food supplied to them by the Government and obtain healthful exer- 
cise by fishing and farming. 

Very respectfully, C. C. Byrne, 

Colonel and Assistant Surgeon- General, 

U. S. Army, Chief Surgeon. 

[First indorsement.] 

War Department, 
Quartermaster-General's Office, 

Washington, July 13, 1898. 
Respectfully referred to the Adjutant-General of the Army for 
information of the Secretary of War. 

M. I. Ludington, 
Quartermaster- General, TJ. S. Army. 



144 ISLE OP PINES. 

[Second indorsement.] 

In view of letter of the Secretary of War to Major-General Miles, 
iated July 1, 1898, copy herewith, no further action need be taken on 
this communication for the present. File. 

John A. Johnston, 

Acting Adjutant- General. 

Adjutant-General's Office, Jidy 19, 1898. 



Headquarters Department of the East, 

Chief Surgeon's Office, 
Governor's Island, New York, July 9, 1898. 
My Dear General: I learn from the newspapers that the War 
Department is anxiously considering how to dispose of our Spanish 
prisoners, when we catch them in large numbers, as we are likely to 
do soon. Two months ago I wrote to the Surgeon-General suggesting 
that the Isle of Pines be utilized for the purpose. I inclose herewith 
a copy of my letter on the subject. Possibly the Surgeon-General 
referred the original to the Adjutant-General, but it may still be on 
file in his office. I think the plan of sending our prisoners to the Isle 
of Pines is well worthy of serious consideration. 

There is a small population on the island with Spanish proclivities, 
but they can easily be rounded up. They are now engaged in running 
the blockade into Batabano and other Cuban harbors, and supplying 
Habana with food, vegetables, fish, poultry, cattle, etc. An added 
reason for not bringing the Spanish prisoners to the United States is 
the great danger of introducing yellow fever and other diseases into 
this country by their instrumentality. Spanish prisoners confined on 
the Isle of Pines would not try to escape to Cuba for fear of the Cubans. 
They might try to get to Yucatan, but it would be difficult, and they 
would be worse off there than on the island. Spain could not venture 
to try to rescue them, so they would be pretty safe. 
Very sincerely, 

C. C. Byrne. 
General Ludington, 

Quartermaster- General, Washington, D. C. 



War Department, 

Washington, July*l, 1898. 

Maj. Gen. Nelson A. Miles, U. S. Army, 

Washington, D. C. 

Sir: In reply to your communication of this date that a battery of 
artillery and a regiment of infantry be sent to take the Isle of Pines, 
I have the honor to inform you that this is not approved by the 
President. 

Very respectfully, R. A. Alger, 

Secretary of War. 



isle of pines. 145 

United States Cuban Commission, 

Habana, Cuba, November 25, 1898. 

Brig. Gen. J. W. Clous, IT. S. Volunteers, 

Secretary United States Cuban Commission, 

Hotel Trotcha, Habana, Cuba. 

Sir: In conformity with orders received from the commission, dated 
November 19, 1898, the undersigned, Maj. W. E. Almy, Maj. M. C. 
Butler, and Capt. J. S. Hart, accompanied by Mr. William Davis, pro- 
ceeded to the Isle of Pines, and make the following report, covering all 
movements from the date of departure to return: 

Left Habana at 8.15 p. m., November 20, 1898, over the United 
Eailroad of Habana, from Villa Nueva depot, accompanied by Messrs. 
Arazoza and Carcasses. Arrived Batabanoa at 10.05 p. m., and were 
enthusiastically received by numerous Cubans congregated on wharf 
at terminus of railroad. 

Embarked on side-wheel steamer Protector and sailed for Isle of 
Pines at 10.30 p. m. This steamer draws from 5i to 6 feet of water, 
and furnishes fairly comfortable stateroom accommodations for about 
22 persons; its average rate of travel is about 8 knots. The course 
lies very nearly exactly due south to the Cruz passage between the 
islands of the Keys of Mangles, which was passed at 8 a. m. , Novem- 
ber 21. Here the channel is very narrow, being marked by numerous 
stakes stuck in the bottom, and about wide enough for only one ship 
to go through at a time. For a distance of one- half a mile from this 
passage the course lies a few points south of due west to the mouth of 
the Sierra de Casas River, which was passed at 9.55 a. m., the depth 
here being about 7 feet, the bottom being distinctly visible. The 
town of Neuva Gerona was reached at 10.20 a. m., lying on the left 
bank 2 miles from the mouth, the river being navigable 5 miles from 
the mouth and furnishing an average depth of 18 feet. 

At the wharf was gathered nearly the whole male population of the 
town, about 350 people, who were most enthusiastic in their greeting, 
shouting "Viva la Comission Americana," "Viva Cuba Libre," etc., 
waving their hats, throwing themselves into each other's arms, and 
fairly going wild with enthusiasm. A call was first made on Signor 
Betancourt, the alcade of the town, and then on Colonel Bonet, the 
Spanish commander, each extending a cordial welcome. The residence 
of Mr. Arezoza was next visited, from the front porch of which Captain 
Hart addressed the enthusiastic populace in a speech, meeting with 
much approval by both the Spanish and Cuban sympathizers. 

Horses were furnished and the surrounding country at once visited 
and inspected with a view to the possible encampment of troops. 
Plenty of ground for this purpose can be obtained within 1^ to 2 
miles from the town; high, slightly undulating, well-drained, moder- 
ately sandy, and a bountiful supply of clear, pure water coming from 
the neighboring mountains, forcing its way under the ground and 
appearing at a point about a mile from the river, with no means for 
contamination. Sufficient supply for thousands of men, and never 
failing. Every facility for bathing purposes. Four frame barracks 
remain standing (70 by 25 feet), formerly used by the Spanish troops 
for hospitals. 

Boats could be advanced up the river to within half a mile of camp 
site, and, with easily constructed wharfage facilities, every accommoda- 
tion for loading and unloading could be obtained. 

S. Doc. 205, 59-1 10 



146 ISLE OF PTNES. 

Little, if any, shade obtainable in this vicinity. 

A large bottle containing a sample of the drinking water was obtained 
for examination, if desired. This locality is unanimously recommended 
as an excellent place for the encampment of troops, being free from 
all disease, clean and healthy, favorable for hospital purposes; also 
for the acclimating of troops. 

The soil is not rich, being sandy and arid, the country resembling 
somewhat the scrub-oak country of the Indian Territory or Wyoming. 
Very little agriculture. All supplies would have to be brought, although 
corn could be 'raised and is raised to a small extent. Rice is grown on 
the low lands of the coast. The supply of pine wood is abundant, as 
the name of this island implies, particularly in the center, where the 
trees are large. On the southern coast is obtained mahogany, ebony, 
acana (iron), and tortoise wood. The roads are hard, furnishing 
unusual facilities for hauling purposes. 

Cordwood can be obtained and placed at Batabanoa for $5 per cord. 

There are three sawmills on this island, furnishing lumber on the 
island at $20 Spanish silver per 1,000 feet. 

Many railroad ties ai*e shipped from the island, of good quality and 
costing about 74 cents gold each. 

To the soil has to be added the guano from Peru, and by this means 
a good tobacco can be obtained. The Henry Clay establishment 
brought out 4,000 bales last year and now can~supply 7,000 bales. 

The most remarkable feature of this island is the large marble quar- 
ries. About 5 miles on either side of the Casas River rise the sierras 
to a height of 2,000 feet — direction from north to south — formed of 
marble, which in former years has been quarried extensively but 
through bad administration seems to be discontinued entirely. 

On the coast two miles east of the town was visited an excellent 
sandy beach, with every advantage for salt water surf bathing. 

The medicinal spring and bath on the outskirts of Nueva Gerona 
were next visited. This spring is considered by the people at this 
place to be as fully efficacious as the springs at Santa Fe, visited the 
next day, but the springs at the latter place are undoubtedly of greater 
value in their medicinal properties, being impregnated with lime, mag- 
nesia, calcium, sodium, and peroxide of iron. Attached to original 
report is a printed pamphlet entitled "Memoir on the Salubrity of the 
Isle of Pines," by Dr. Don Jose de la Luz Hernandez. 

There is a stone barracks in the town of Nueva Gerona, capable of 
quartering 800 men, built in the form of a square. It is in good con- 
dition, and after a thorough cleaning could be utilized as a barracks 
for incoming troops. 

It is suggested that an early removal of the present occupants be 
requested, so that ample time be had for putting it in good condition. 

A telephone line is at present in running order between the towns 
of Nueva Gerona and Santa Fe, which is 15 miles distant. This line 
is owned and operated by the Spanish Government. 

On November 22 riding horses were obtained and the town of Santa 
Fe visited, lying inland on the Santa Fe River about 9 miles from its 
mouth. Its population is about 250. 

This place presents no advantages in a military point of view, being 
low and damp; covered with fruit and palm trees. It is not recom- 
mended as a point for the encampment of troops, owing to the 
undoubted prevalence of malaria, especially during the wet season. 



ISLE OF PINES. 147 

The principal feature of this town is the presence of thermal and medici- 
nal springs as above-mentioned, the drinking water being excellent 
for stomach and gastrinal-intestinal trouble, and the baths for rheuma- 
tism and skin diseases, the temperature of the bath being 37° C. 

The next place visited was the landing at Jucaro, on the west coast 
of the island, at the mouth of the Santa Fe River. This place was 
reached by steamer, leaving Gerona at 11 a. m., November 23, and 
arriving at 2 p. m. This landing is 6 miles from the mouth of the 
river, which is navigable 8 miles from its mouth, with an average depth 
of 20 feet. The steamer here took on a load of tobacco settings, 
intended for replanting in the Pinar del Rio and Habana districts of 
the island of Cuba. This vicinity presents no favorable features for 
the encampment of troops. 

Left Jucaro at 3.30 p. m. and arrived at Batabanoa, Cuba, at 2 a. m. 
Batabanoa is a dirtj^, unhealthy town of about 2,000 inhabitants, lying 
on the southern coast, the principal feature being a long, well con- 
structed dock of about 300 yards in length, extending into the open sea 
and providing docking facilities for three lines of steamers, viz: 

1. The Menendez Line, running the steamers Josefita and Antuio- 
genes Menendez (steel propellers) along the southern coast of Cienfue- 
gos, Casilda, Tunas, Jucaro, Manzanillo, Santa Cruz de Sur, and 
Santiago, leaving on Thursday mornings, and on return trip arriving 
at Batabanoa on Sunda} 7 s. 

2. The Compania de Navegacion de Formente del Sur, running the 
steamer (side wheel) General Lerundi to the Isle of Pines and points 
on the Island of Cuba, westward to Batabanoa, leaving Batabanoa 
Thursdays a. m.; Nueva Gerona, Fridays; Coloma, Bailen, and Punta 
Cartas, Saturdays. On return trip, leaving Nueva Gerona and Jucaro 
Monda} r s, arriving at Batabanoa on Tuesdays at daylight. 

3. Composed of one side-wheel steamer, the Protector. Leaving 
Batabanoa on Sundays at 10 p. m., arriving Nueva Gerona at 9 a. m. 
on Mondays. Leaving Nueva Gerona on return trip at 10 a. m. 
Wednesdays and Jucaro at 3 p. m. same day, arriving at Batabanoa 
2 o'clock Thursdays, a. m. 

This latter line is sustained hj local traffic, government military 
transportation, and mails. For the last two items it has received no 
remuneration for a long time from the Spanish Government. 

At present there is stationed at Batabanoa one battalion (400) of 
Spanish soldiers. 

There are here three 10-inch, smooth-bore muzzle-loading cannon. 
Two have never been taken off the railroad flat cars, and the other is 
tying unmounted on the edge of the dirt road. The gun carriages are 
apparently in place at the shore end of the wharf. 

Left Batabanoa by rail at 12.05 p. m. , November 24, and arrived at 
Habana 2 p. m. same date, passing through the towns of San Felipe, 
Bejucal, Rincon, and Cienga. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Wm. E. Almy, 
Major and Assistant Adjutant- General. 
M. C. Butler, Jr. 
Major and Chief Ordnance Officer. 
J. S. Hart, 
Captain, First U. S. Volunteer Infantry. 



148 isle of pines. 

June 21, 1898.. 
Dear Mr. Porter: 1 see by the papers, and take it for granted it 
is true, that all prisoners we captured — they intend to send them to 
Fort McPherson. I think this is all wrong. It will require us to 
transport them to Florida by boat, then by rail to McPherson, which 
will be expensive. Not only this, but when the war is over we will 
have to transport them to Spain, as she will nay she has not the money 
to return them home. My plan is this: To have all the prisoners we 
take put on the Island of Pines (Los Pinos). This place is south of 
Cienfuegos, is a large island and has been used by the Spaniards as a 
penal colony. It would require but a small force to guard them, 
and when the war is over we could tell Spain to take them. I think 
this is a most important matter, and 1 hope you will call the Presi- 
dent's attention to it. 

Yours, truly, Wright Rives. 



Army and Navy Club, 

New York, July 6, 1898. 
The Secretary of War, Washington, D. O. 

Respectfully suggested: 

In view of coming Spanish prisoners of war — that they be corralled, 
reconcentrados and incomunicados, at the Isle of Pines, off south coast 
of Cuba. 

Climate and surroundings all that they have been accustomed to. 

Small guard on shore only to guard commissaiT storehouse. 

Four small gunboats on constant patrol would obviate all attempts 
at escape. 

Barring comparative loss of liberty — give them free range of island — 
they would be free from all hardships endured by our brave men at 
Dartmoor Prison in England, 1812-1815, or Andersonville on the one 
side or the northern camp of secessionists on the other. 

Bundle them all in together, officers and men, and let them make 
their own arrangements for sleeping space and other separation. 

From veteran of 1847 and 1861. 

Basil Beauchamp. 



SUGGESTION FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE HONORABLE SECRETARY 

OF WAR. 

52 Wall Street, July 27, 1898. 
Isle of Pines has been a favorite sanitarium; sandy soil, absorbing 
rains; several high points of land on it; short transportation from 
Santiago. Might it not serve greatly for our sick troops ? 

W. J. Warrin. 



ISLE or PTNES. 149 

War Department, 
Adjutant-General's Office, 

Washington, August 13, 1898. 
Mr. W. J. Warrin, 

5% Wall street, New York City. 
Sir: The Secretary of War desires me to acknowledge the receipt 
of your suggestion of the 27th ultimo, regarding the Isle of Pines as 
a sanitarium for sick soldiers. 

Very respectfully, H. 0. Heistand, 

Assistant Adjutant- General. 



[Telegram.] 

Adjutant-General's Office, 

Washington, February 1, 1899. 

General Brooke, Habana: 

The Secretary of War desires to know if yon have sent a garrison 
to the Isle of Pines. He thinks that at least two companies should 
be sent there. Your confidential letter received and read by the Sec- 
retary and the President; both seem to be much pleased with the satis- 
factory progress you are making. 

Corbin. 



[Cable message.] 

Habana, February 1, 1899. 
Adjutant-General, Washington: 

A battalion is being prepared to garrison the Isle of Pines. 

John E. Brooke, 
Major- General, Commanding. 



[Telegram.] 

February 10, 1899. 
General Brooke, Habana: 

Colonel Hecker has arrived. From conversation with him, think 
you had better send not more than 50 men to Isle of Pines at the out- 
side. All men not needed had better be sent to the United States on 
account of sickly season approaching. 

Alger, Secretary of War. 



[Cablegram.] 

Habana, February 10, 1899. 
The Secretary of War, Washington : 

Have directed one company sent to Isle of Pines; am doing it by 
order; do not think troops are necessary there; as to troops going home, 
see my cablegram of 8th. 

Brooke, Cmmnanding. 



150 ISLE OP PINES. 

[Telegram.] 

February 11, 1899. 
General Brooke, Habana. 

If you deem best, you need not send any troops to the Isle of Pines. 
We supposed it was necessary to have small force there. 

R. A. Alger, Secretary of War. 



[Cablegram.] 

Habana, February 11, 1899. 
The Secretary of War, 

Washington: 
In accordance with your telegram of to-da} T have countermanded 
order for troops to Isle of Pines. Will employ small body rural police 
for that duty. 

Brooke, Commanding. 



Headquarters Seventh Army Corps, 

Camp Columbia, 
Near Habana, Cuba, February 9, 1899. 

(Received February 15.) 
Maj. Gen. Adna R. Chaffee, 

Ch ief of Staff, YedaoZo. 

Sir: 1 have the honor to report my return from an inspection of 
the Isle of Pines, and give herein such information as I could obtain 
from the best sources in a trip occupying four days. 

The Isle of Pines, as is known, lies almost due south and 60 miles 
from the Plaj^a of Batabano. The water covering the intervening 
space is shallow, having an average depth of 15 feet, but in many 
places 10 and 12, and in one passage necessary to take to reach the 
Isle of Pines only about 5. The steamer plying between the island 
and the port of Batabano, drawing some 3 feet, is about 150 feet long 
with a breadth of beam of 50 feet, and can carry a company of 75 men 
on her upper deck, and wagons, mules, forage, and rations on the 
lower deck. This steamer travels at the rate of 6 miles an hour, and 
therefore takes between ten and eleven hours to make the trip. The 
Isle of Pines is disappointing in its appearance, number of its inhabi- 
tants, and the fertility of its soil. Instead of being surrounded in part 
or in whole, as expected, by firm sand sea beach, it is almost entirely 
fringed with wide mangrove swamps. 

There are two towns on the island — Nueva Gerona, about 1£ miles 
up a small stream called Sierra de Cassas, so named after the adjacent 
mountains, and is the point of landing of the steamer, with a popula- 
tion of some 600. The one other town in the island, Santa Fe, is 15 
miles in the interior in a southeasterly direction from Nueva Gerona, 
and has a population of 300 or 400. The whole population of the 
island, so far as I could learn, is a little over 2,000, these two small 
towns containing, therefore, nearly one-half of the population of the 
island. 

The soil is, as a general thing, thin, in some places there being only 



ISLE OF PINES. 151 

2 inches of soil over the sand. The pine trees, from which the island 
derives its name, are generally small in diameter, about the size of 
the ordinary telegraph pole, though in the western section some of 
them are large enough to be sawed into timber. 

Rice is raised in the eastern section of the island, but not in large 
enough quantities to export. There are some hard woods in the man- 
grove swamps and some in the southern section of the island, vessels 
going up into small inlets and getting a few logs here and there. 

East of Nueva Gerona there is a marble quarry in the side of the 
mountain. I did not visit it, but reports received from the more intel- 
ligent of the natives were not favorable to the quantity and quality, 
and they represent that every attempt to develop this quarry has been 
more or less unsuccessful. At Nueva Gerona there is a very good 
magnesia spring, and at Santa Fe there are several mineral springs, 
among them a thermal spring, represented to be very good for stomach 
complaints, to which a few persons from Habana troubled in that way 
annually go. 

There are no industries on the island. The exports seem to be prin- 
cipally tobacco poles, some pine cross-ties, and charcoal. Sugar cane 
can not be successfully grown on account of the poverty of the land; 
and the experiments of tobacco has not proved successful either, ordy 
one-fourth as much tobacco being raised this year as was raised last 
year. The people are quiet and peaceable. Over such a large area 
the present small population can be self-sustaining. 

I found a company of 60 insurgents under a captain there, no one 
seemed to know for what purpose, and as they were living on the 
inhabitants most of them desired to have them removed. I do not see 
any necessity for a military garrison at this point; but in compliance 
with instructions shall send a company over there on Sunda} 7 next, 
that being the day the boat sails from Batabano Playa. 

It would take a month to get a battalion on the Isle of Pines by the 
present steamer, and as there are no other boats in or around the island 
of Cuba except those drawing too much water for the trip, no other 
boat can be used. One trip per week only is made. I selected a high 
piece of ground at Nueva Gerona near the old Spanish barracks for 
the encampment of this company, not very far from the magnesia spring' 
before mentioned, and have ordered to be sent with them thirty days' 
supply of rations and forage. Company D, Captain Veazy, First Texas 
Regiment, has been selected, and will be commanded b} 7 good officers 
who will be given special instructions before their departure. 

I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Fitzhugh Lee, 
Major- General, Commanding. 

[First indorsement.] 

Headquarters Division of Cuba, 

Habana, February 13, 1899. 
Respectfully forwarded to the Adjutant-General of the Army, in 
connection with telegrams on this subject. 

John R. Brooke, 

Major- General. 



152 ISLE OF PINES. 

Exhibit B. 

No.. 445.] Legation of the United States of America, 

Habana, Cuba, March 18, 1903. 

Sir : Referring to my dispatch No. 434, of March 6 last, I have the 
honor to report that, accompanied by Mr. Fletcher, second secretary, 
I left Habana on Monday, the 9th instant, at 2.40 p. m., via the United 
Hallways of Habana, arriving at Batabano, the nearest point to 
Nueva Gerona, Island of Pines, at 4.40 o'clock, where the steamer 
Island of Cuba was waiting. I found this vessel so filthy and appar- 
ently unsafe that I finally decided to avail myself of a revenue cutter 
kindly placed at my disposal by the Cuban Government. By the use 
of the cutter I was able to save nearly a whole day in crossing, and 
was afterwards able to leave the island at my convenience and after I 
had finished my work there — quite an advantage to me, as the regular 
boat makes but one trip a week and I did not care to be cut off entirely 
from the legation for ten days, as would otherwise have been the case. 

Leaving Batabano at 5 p. m., I reached the island at 4 a. m. (Nueva 
Gerona ) , where I found excellent accommodations at a hotel managed 
by Mr. S. H. Pearcy, vice-president of the Isle of Pines Company, 
claimed to be the largest and most important interest in the island. 

Nueva Gerona is an old Spanish town, built during the early part 
of the last century; was at one time garrisoned by a strong body of 
Spanish troops for the safe-keeping of convicts, the Spanish Govern- 
ment having at that time a penal colony established there. Its pres- 
ent population numbers about 150. 

It was my intention to see every resident American landowner in 
the island and gather all possible information as to his interests and 
wishes. To this end I drove over the most of the northeastern section 
during my three days' visit. This is the district in which the large 
majority of the American residents have secured lands. I visited the 
new American town of Columbia and the old Spanish town of Santa 
Fe — the former a typical western boomer town of regularly laid out 
lots, streets, etc., and which has been but little improved, including, 
hoAvever, a town hall, store, post-office, and some four or five cheaply 
built dwelling houses; the latter an old Cuban town of some 300 
inhabitants, with two fairly good hotels and the quite famous mag- 
nesia springs. These waters are said to contain certain minerals 
which are very beneficial in stomach, kidney, and other diseases ana 
are claimed by the Americans to be of great value in connection with 
future large hotels. 

I did not visit the southern section of the island, where the Isle of 
Pines Company have considerable interests, as it is not easily acces- 
sible excepting by sea, or other sections, because there are but four or 
five American families living outside of the district I visited. 

I visited the homes of most of the settlers and personally discussed 
their situation. Every man, with four or five exceptions, had the 
opportunity of stating to me his case, his interests, and the peculiar 
hardships, if any, surrounding it, if he so desired, and it is needless to 
state that the opportunity was largely availed of. 

I inquired particularly as to grounds of complaint against the exist- 
ing government and was unable to find any well-founded grievance 
against the local officials. 



TSLE OF PINES. 153 

No taxes of any consequence have been paid or demanded. In the 
case of Mr. Pearcy a small amount has been demanded and payment 
refused on the ground that the Cuban Government has no jurisdiction. 
In every case I advised payment, as the Cuban Government is the de 
facto government and so recognized by the United States. 

Some complaints have been made that the schools are insufficient, 
but this lack of educational facilities is owing probably to the disin- 
clination of the Cuban Government to enter into any permanent 
arrangements until the future status of the island is definitely settled. 
There are no English schools. I visited two Cuban schools and I 
understand there are several others on the island. 

The most serious cause of complaint was the want of a port of entry, 
as at present the nearest custom-house is at Habana and the point of 
clearing Batabano, which is very inconvenient and expensive for 
those living at such a distance. The requirements of the Cuban Gov- 
ernment relative to recording of transfers of property, and the very 
expensive charges made by the officials, was also complained of. 

In both of these cases I offered to do what I could to induce the 
Cuban Government to establish at some convenient point a port of 
entry and a court of record, but fear on the part of our people or 
prejudicing their claim as to the present political status of the island 
prevented any action. I shall, however, do what I can to relieve them 
of these inconveniences and have already received some encourage- 
ment from the Government. 

It is difficult to believe that the advantages are as great as they are 
claimed to be by our people. The island has remained so long dor- 
mant and shows but few signs of former cultivation or occupation. 
Excepting about the cabins of the natives there is little or no culti- 
vated land. Whether it will ever be a great fruit or tobacco produc- 
ing country I do not pretend to say, but those who have cast their for- 
tunes there are most enthusiastic. The marble quarries have been 
worked in former times, but to what extent and at what profit is not 
clear. The stone is said to be very fine and is convenient to water 
transportation. Mr. Pearcy claims that the timber lands in the 
southern portion of the island contain all kinds of most valuable wood 
and from which he is now preparing to make shipments to the United 
States. 

On this subject I beg to quote from the report made by F. F. Foltz, 
captain, Second U. S. Cavaky, dated February 22, 1899, copy of 
which is inclosed herewith, marked No. 1 : 

The island is not adapted to cattle raising except for home consumption. The 
n mount of pine timber fit for the saw is not large. The areas of cane land are 
insignificant. High freights and distance to markets make garden produce val- 
ueless except for home consumption. As far as it is possible to learn without 
visiting the south coast, the amount and quality of mahogany is not sufficient 
to attract buyers from more promising fields. The marble is well worth exami 
nation by men of experience and capital. 

The exploitation of the island as a sanitary resort is, however, the enterprise 
which seems to promise the greatest return to the capitalist, as well as the 
greatest benefit to the island itself. The mineral springs, thermal baths, and 
healthy climate have already an established reputation. With sufficient capital 
to establish a large hotel and run a swift steamer of light draft to Batabano. the 
island can be brought within eight hours or loss of Habana, and the traveler 
runs no risk of seasickness in the shallow sea inclosed by keys. A daily service 
would make the place attractive to business men of Habana, and give a sale and 
outlet to many products not otherwise marketable. 



154 ISLE OF PINES. 

Referring to our vested interests, the principal sums invested have 
been through the purchase of lands by the four land companies 
located here. Some of them are what might be called mutual, but 
generally there is a speculative element which will receive the profits 
derived from the sale of surplus lands, while one company (the Isle 
of Pines Company) is entirely speculative. 

The following is a brief statement of each : 

Isle of Pines Company. — J. A. Hill, of New York, president. Gen- 
eral offices, 91-93 Fifth avenue, New York. Incorporated under 
the laws of the State of New Jersey. Company holds some 106,775 
acres of land, for which it paid $174,000, and claims to have made 
improvements to the amount of $75,000. This company is purely 
speculative; has not sold any land, but is holding for higher prices. 

The Isle of Pines Land and Development Company. — Ira A. Brown 
(Columbia, Isle of Pines), president. Incorporated under the laws 
of the State of Iowa. Capitalized at $20,000. Forty shares of the 
par value of $500 each. Company holds title to 22,218 acres of land 
(Santa Rosalie estate). Purchased August 4, 1901. One hundred 
acres and a lot in the town of Columbia have been allotted to each of 
the original 40 shareholders. The prospectus of this company, con- 
taining a plat of their lands, is inclosed, marked 2. A list of the 
stockholders and amount of land allotted to each is now being pre- 
pared by the secretary of the company and will be forwarded as soon 
as received. 

The Santa Fe Land Company. — Robert I. Wall, president. Incor- 
porated under the laws of Iowa. Capital, $150,000. The amount 
of land purchased by this company is 27,437 acres, for which it paid 
$25,500. The purchase of this tract was made February 2, 1903. 
The land has not yet been allotted among the shareholders. I 
inclose a list showing the name and address of each shareholder of 
this company and the amount of stock subscribed for by each. I 
also inclose the printed prospectus of the "company. 

The Almacigos Springs Land Company. — Capital stock, $70,000, 
divided into 140 shares of the par value of $500, each share repre- 
senting 100 acres of land. The Almacigos tract was purchased 
September 29, 1902, for $30,000. This company also holds the Cala- 
baza tract, making in all some 14,000 acres. I inclose a list of the 
stockholders, with residence and amount subscribed for by each, 
and a draft or plat of the real estate held by the company. 

Over 80 per cent of the land now held by Americans in the island 
was purchased by or through these companies. They own, or have 
owned, 170,667 acres, or 30 per cent of the total acreage of the island. 

I inclose two schedules, made up from the statements of those 
whom I saw personally and those whose agents spoke for them, which 
show that 17,217 acres are held by them, of which 1,299 are under 
cultivation. I did not meet any American who had purchased land 
in the island prior to the passage of the act of March 2, 1901 (Piatt 
amendment). The official records show, however, one transaction, 
the sale of 133 acres to Henry Haener, on the 6th of July, 1900, for 
$250. The records also show that the sales of land from March 2, 
1901, to May 20, 1902, to Americans amounted to $107,210, and that 
since May 20, 1902, they have amounted to $158,200. The deed for 
the land of the Santa Fe Land Company was recorded March 6, 
1903. The value of improvements made by individual American 



ISLE OP PINES. 155 

landowners, whom I saw, as estimated by themselves or their agents, 
is shown by the schedules inclosed to be $60,565. 

I also inclose a schedule furnished me by the Cuban Government 
and taken from the official records of the recorder's office, showing 
the land transfers to Americans since the 1st of January, 1899 ; also 
a statement of taxes collected in the island for the fiscal years 1901 
and 1902. 

I also inclose a map of the island of Pines, prepared by Messrs. 
Tomaselli and Giltner, civil engineers, showing in detail American 
holdings, and I have attached thereto a schedule showing areas of 
such holdings. Total holdings, 211,412 acres, or 42 per cent of the 
island. Mr. Tomaselli estimates the arable lands at 66 per cent. 

While the promoters of these various land schemes have insisted 
upon it that the island of Pines is United States territory, the sixth 
article of the Piatt amendment ought to have prevented any prospec- 
tive purchaser from buying if the future status of the island was a 
controlling factor. 

No matter how the question of the status of the island is to be set- 
tled, I can not too strongly recommend that it be done without delay. 
The longer the matter is allowed to drift on the larger will become 
the number of Americans who will settle there and who will insist 
upon their claims and embarrass the Government in case Cuba is to 
retain the island. The Cuban Government is most anxious to settle 
this question, as well as all pending questions, before the Congress 
(which meets April 6.) adjourns, and I most strongly urge this to be 
done. 

I also inclose a petition handed to me while on the island, setting 
forth the wishes of the American citizens living there. I inclose, 
also, two blank forms of stock subscription, showing the contract 
which the stockholders of the Almacigos and Santa Fe land com- 
panies have signed. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

H. G. Squiers. 
Hon. John Hay, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. G. 



List of inclosures. 

1. Report of Captain Foltz. 

2. Prospectus Isle of Pines Land and Development Company. 

3. Prospectus Santa Fe Land Company. 

4. Draft Almacigos tract. 

5. Blank stock subscription Almacigos Company. 

6. Blank stock subscription Santa Fe Company. 

7. Official list (translation) of sales to Americans since January 1, 1899. 

8. Tabulated statement of interest of resident Americans. 

9. Tabulated statement of interest of nonresident Americans. 

10. Map of island and attached statement showing land owned by Americans 
(individual and corporations) as compared with total area, percentages, etc. 

11. List of stockholders Santa Fe Land Company. 

12. List of stockholders of Almacigos Company. 

13. Official statment (translation) of taxes collected from Island of Pines, 
fiscal year 1901-2-3. 

14. Petition of United States citizens. 



156 ISLE OF PINES 

[Inclosure No. 1 — Dispatch No. 445.] 

Isle of Pines, February 22, 1899. 
Lieut. Col. Tasker H. Bliss, 

Chief of Customs Service, Habana, Cuba. 

Sir: In compliance with instructions contained in your letter of 
the 7th instant I have the honor to render the following report upon 
the Isle of Pines. 

This report is based upon some three weeks' experience in the 
island, as I had, prior to this visit, spent about one week here. I 
was unable to wisit the southern part of the island, which is sepa- 
rated from the other by an impassable swamp and is accessible only 
by sea. In this southern section is found all the mahogany and 
other valuable hard woods; but as my instruction did not contem- 
plate the chartering of a vessel I base my report in this particular 
upon conversations with reliable people. 

The geography of the island is already shown with sufficient accu- 
racjr and detail in the map issued by the War Department. 

In general the surface is a plateau of an elevation of some 50 to 
100 feet above the sea, broken by ridges of hills or cliffs that project 
abruptly here and there above the general level surface. 

The soil is generally of a firm sand mixed with some clay and 
graA'-el, which makes good roads, even in rainy weather, by merely 
cleaning away the brush. 

The two mountain ridges at the northern end of the island have an 
elevation of some 1,500 feet and are composed of limestone and mar- 
ble. The other ridges in the center of the island are much lower, less 
precipitous, and are formed of a gray sandstone and of a red rock 
and gravel containing iron. 

The southern part of the island is composed of what is locally 
known as " Dogtooth " coral rock, and the southern coast is rocky 
and dangerous, containing only one small harbor, Carapachivey. On 
the southwest is a capacious anchorage, the Ciguanea, and from this 
anchorage vessels drawing 20 feet can pass northward around the 
island as far as New Gerona, inside the keys that lie some 6 miles off 
the coast. The whole island with the exception of the rocky south- 
ern coast is surrounded by mangrove swamps, with here and there a 
short stretch of sandy beach. 

The only two landings, New Gerona (on the Rio Las Casas) and 
Jucaro (on the Rio Santa Fe), are accessible by vessels drawing 5 
feet of water or less, the bars at the river mouths being very shallow. 

The southern part of the island is covered with a dense growth of 
valuable hard wood. The central part bears yellow pine, mostly too 
small for lumber, though there are considerable tracts of very fair 
saw logs. As you approach the western, northern, and eastern coasts 
the pine disappears and the country becomes a savannah, covered 
with a thin grass and dotted with scrubby trees and palmetto. It 
much resembles the barren parts of Florida. 

FORMER TAXES AND DUES. 

After careful investigation I find that the only land belonging to 
the State is contained in some 63 lots, each of some 50 acres, scat- 
tered about within 3 miles of New Gerona. These lots seem to be 



ISLE OF PINES. 157 

those left after the land had been picked over, as they are generally 
in the worst locations and practically worthless, containing nothing 
but mangrove scrub, dwarf palmetto, and thin pine grass. A few 
of the lots are better and are in use as small farms, the residents 
paying, it is understood, a nominal rent to the " hacienda " at Ha- 
bana (no record on this point in the island). 

I can find no record of dues paid to the Crown for privilege of 
exporting timber, but it is understood that contributions were arbi- 
trarily levied from time to time by the military governor here, 
These contributions or gratifications were paid to secure immunity 
from official obstructions in the going and coming of vessels from the 
inaccessible points at which the lumber was gathered. It is presum- 
able that a portion, at least, of these contributions were used for the 
benefit of the island, but no record appears to have been kept of the 
amount or disposition. 

The governor of the island legally collected dues for the slaughter- 
ing of cattle and for the selling of the meat and also dues from stores 
and shops of all kinds. As a wood-chopper camp would require beef, 
and would also probably maintain a store for the sale of provisions, 
it became liable to dues, which on account of its usually inaccessible 
location were difficult of collection. 

To meet this difficulty the governor devised a system of dues based 
upon the amount of charcoal and cord wood exported, which dues 
were levied in lieu of those legally authorized. In accessible camps 
or " cuttings " the amount of export was actually ascertained ; in 
other cuttings, more inaccessible, a lump sum per month was exacted, 
based upon the number of men employed. 

The quantity of mangrove and other scrubby wood available for 
charcoal and cord wood is practically unlimited, all the coast and the 
keys to the north being covered with this growth, and the State does 
not appear to have collected any dues for the cutting. The dues 
seem to have been simply in the nature of town taxes, levied on wood- 
choppers' camps, in order that they should not, by leaving the estab- 
lished town, escape the burden of taxation. 

It is believed that the impression that dues were paid to the State 
for the use of its timber land in the Isle of Pines have arisen from an 
erroneous understanding of the system explained above. 

Since the 1st of January the taxes just cited, like all others, have 
not been paid, the alcalde of the island, as well as the military gov- 
ernor (an officer of the Cuban army) either not feeling themselves 
sufficiently secure to enforce payment or finding it to their material 
interest to allow things to run themselves. As a consequence the 
bridges are in need of repair, the schools are closed, the clerks living 
from hand to mouth without any remuneration. The alcalde, him- 
self a wealthy man, has not felt the inconvenience, and as he is said 
to be largely interested in wood cutting and charcoal trade he is pre- 
sumably satisfied to wait for orders from higher authority. 

POPULATION, ETC. 

The island contains but two towns, New Gerona on the north coast 
and Santa Fe in the center, the former numbering some 300 inhabit- 
ants and the latter 150. The population of the island can be set down 
at about 2,000. 



158 ISLE OF PINES. 

New Gerona is the capital of the island, and in fact the only town, 
as Santa Fe — 15 miles distant — is officially a suburb. In this connec- 
tion it would appear to be very much to the advantage of the towns 
(and the island) if they were officially independent. Santa Fe, with 
a port at Jucaro, only 7 miles away, would then become a rival of 
New Gerona, and both places would be stimulated to commercial and 
municipal competition. 

New Gerona is advantageously situated on a picturesque plateau 
at the base of the Casas Mountains and some 30 feet above the level 
of the sea and the swamps at the mouth of the river. The site is 
well drained, exposed to the constant breezes, and seems to promise 
reasonable freedom from the malarial influences. Its water comes 
from a magnesium spring, said to be very beneficial in cases of stom- 
ach trouble, and baths have been built, into which water from the 
same spring is conducted. Just outside of the town on an open 
plateau is the barracks, a large stone building, with interior courts, 
capable of accommodating comfortably 200 American troops, and of 
affording shelter if necessary to double that number. There is a 
wharf at the town at which the steamer Protector, from Batabano, 
lands once a week. The articles exported are charcoal, tobacco poles, 
roofing poles, railway ties, and tobacco. There is no hotel. Invalids 
do not usually stop here, but go on to Santa Fe, in the center of the 
island, 15 miles over an excellent natural road. 

Santa Fe, 150 inhabitants; two hotels, " Ceballos " and "Santa 
Fe; thermal baths of about blood temperature, medicinal springs 
(magnesium and iron) , very favorably known by people of Habana, 
many of whom come here in summer. The Spanish Government had 
an official surgeon here, who collected a consultation fee of $3.75 gold 
from each person who desired to take the baths, the patient after- 
wards paying 20 cents for each bath. This imposition of forced med- 
ical consultation before taking a tepid bath should not continue. The 
port of Santa Fe is Jucaro, on the Santa Fe River, 7 miles by good 
road. Steamer touches once a week. The only wheeled vehicles are 
the ancient volantes and the ox cart. Schools: None in operation 
now. Schoolmasters were ignorant and incompetent. The revenues 
having ceased, all government functions are at a standstill. The 
taxes formerly collected here \yy the Bank of Spain went to Habana, 
whence one-fourth was afterwards remitted to the island. The only 
dues collectible directly by the authorities in the island were the ones 
for slaughtering cattle and selling beef. These would now be nil, as 
there are practically no cattle in the island. 

The civil expenses of the government formerly amounted to about 
$7,000 per annum, of which $4,000 came from the Bank of Spain and 
$3,000 were collected directly on beef or indirectly, as explained 
before, by export duties of \\ cents on each sack of charcoal and 7 
cents on each cord of wood. 

MINERAL. 

The only mineral product of any importance is the marble which is 
found in the two mountains east and west of New Gerona on the 
north coast. This marble was worked extensively some thirty years 
ago. The ruins of a steam plant for sawing and polishing the slabs 
show that much money was put into the enterprise. It is said that 
for reasons of its own the government looked with disfavor on the 



ISLE OF PINES. 159 

enterprise, and to discourage it levied a duty upon the sand used in 
sawing, which was hauled from the shore a mile from the quarry. 
This imposition killed the enterprise. 

About twelve years ago a few cargoes of marble blocks were gotten 
out and shipped to Habana to be sawed up and worked there. Since 
then nothing has been done. , The marble seems to be of good quality, 
ranging from what appears to be a good white statuary marble 
through the various shades of blue- veined stone to marble of a dark 
gray. There are also specimens with pinkish coloring. There are 
in the island no samples of very brilliant polish, but judging from the 
crystallization of some of the blocks good results should be obtain- 
able with proper methods. The old working has done little but strip 
the surface of a cliff of weather-worn rock. Better material may be 
deeper and the amount of material in sight is unlimited. The old 
works have a most advantageous location, where a short haul over a 
good road leads to an old pier. A good quality of brick clay is found 
in the island, and at New Gerona are the ruins of an extensive brick- 
yard, whence bricks, flooring tiles, and roofing tiles were formerly 
shipped to Habana. 

LUMBER. 

There are at present two small steam sawmills in the island, one in 
actual running order. There is U large area of pine forest, but the 
logs large enough for sawing are found only in certain small stretches 
of the center of the island. The small pines furnish for exportation 
railway ties, telegraph poles, poles for the roofs of native Cuban huts 
and for hanging tobacco during the curing process. There are no 
statistics available from which the amount and quality of the valuable 
hard woods on the southern island can be estimated. There appears 
to have been no very regular trade, and I believe that while much fine 
wood will be found there, it will not be found of sufficient size and in 
sufficient quantity to warrant the expense of getting it to the water 
over the difficult rocky ground in which it grows. The most acces- 
sible localities have already been culled, and it is said that to take out 
the best timber portable railways will have to be used. 

LIVE STOCK. 

Horses. — The horses of the island are very small and generally very 
poor, but are hardy and travel with a comfortable and rapid ambling 
gait. The pasturage is not such as to favor growth, and the stock 
brought here during the war is being rapidly exported to Cuba. 

Cattle. — Cattle have almost disappeared from the island. In a 
week's riding I did not see a hundred head. Beef is a luxury, not 
usually obtainable even in the towns of New Gerona and Santa Fe. 
A rumor that the Spanish Government was about to seize all the 
cattle caused a hurried sale, and the purchasers immediately shipped 
the animals to Habana. 

Pigs. — The island is a paradise for this animal, as the vast variety 
of wild fruits and seeds furnish him abundant food. 

Parrots. — Parrots are found in large numbers and are exported 
j^early. 

Fish. — The shallow waters about the island abound in fish and lob- 
sters of excellent quality. 



160 



ISLE OF PINES. 



AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES. 



Of the land lying north of the Cienega, I should estimate uie 
swamp and low ground covered with mangroves at 25 per cent; the 
savannahs covered with grass and scrub palmetto at 25 per cent, 
mountains and steep hills 5 per cent, pine land unsuitable for agricul- 
ture 25 per cent, land of doubtful agricultural value 10 per cent, rich 
land 10 per cent. Of the land denominated rich a very small per- 
centage is actually under cultivation, but the nature of the growth 
upon it shows the value of the soil. Of the entire surface of the 
island, but 1 per cent is now under cultivation. As an example of the 
wonderful variety of products, I may mention a finca or farm of less 
than 33 acres actual cultivation whose products include coffee, sugar, 
cocoa, yuca (furnishing laundry starch), cocoanuts, bananas, plan- 
tains, boniatos (sweet potatoes), malangas (answering for potatoes), 
beans, rice, lettuce, tobacco, honey, fowls, pigs, and cattle. 

The rich arable land of the island is not found in large tracts, but 
in scattered patches among the hills, suitable for tobacco patches 
rather than for sugar plantations. The demand for consumption in 
the island is very small and the freight rates to the mainland high, 
hence the only agricultural product that finds a ready market and 
commands cash is tobacco. Of this staple the island exported last 
year about 5,000 bales of 100 pounds each. The amount will this year 
fall to 2,000 bales or less, for the reason that the workers who came 
here from Vuelta Aba jo to escape the war have now returned to their 
old homes, where the reputation of the leaf, if not its actual superi- 
ority, gives the laborer who cultivates on shares a larger return for 
his work. Tobacco from here sells in Habana at $40 per bale, though 
it is believed that it passes later as Vuelta Aba jo tobacco at a higher 
price. A tobacco factory in the island would insure the recognition 
of the product under its own name, and, it is believed, would stimu- 
late the growth of the staple and benefit this island. Tobacco grow- 
ers here assert that the only difficulty here arises from the newness of 
the soil. It has not been sufficiently worked and mixed to insure a 
uniform crop, some plants growing rank and others poorly. 

Sugar. — The cane at present raised in the island is for home use 
only. The juice is extracted by a crude wooden mill and boiled down 
in a large open kettle, making a dark coarse sugar unfit for export. 
A sugar plantation here could not compete with those in the rich level 
lands of Habana Province, as the soil, except in small tracts, would be 
soon exhausted by the cane. 

Coffee. — This product has so far been raised only experimentally, 
but the quality seemed to be fair, and with cultivators who under- 
stand the work good results might be obtained. 

Cocoa. — Cocoa (chocolate) is raised only experimentally, but the 
fruit appears to be fine. 

Rice. — Grows without irrigation. 

Yuca (for starch). — Grows and yields well. 

Malanga (answering as potatoes). — Grows in fine quality. 

Boniato (or sweet potato). — This product has a particularly fine 
flavor, and with reduced rates to Cuba should become a marketable 
product. 

Plantains. — These have a sweeter flavor than those of Cuba and 
produce abundantly. They are now shipped to Cuba in small quanti • 
ties, and should become an important article of export. 



ISLE OF PINES. 161 

Oranges. — These have a reputation for sweetness, and the island 
seems particularly suited to their growth. No attention seems to 
have been paid to the kind of trees planted, and it is believed that 
there is an opening there for orange growers of experience who would 
plant the most approved variety of stock. 

Guava. — This fruit grows wild over a large part of the island and 
furnishes food for pigs. It might be utilized in the manufacture of 
the guava paste and jelly. 

Cocoanuts. — These yield abundantly, though few trees have been 
planted. Could easily become an article of export. 

To resume, the island is not adapted to cattle raising except for 
home consumption. The amount of pine timber fit for the saw is not 
large. The areas of cane land are insignificant. High freights and 
distance to market make garden produce valueless except for home 
consumption. As far as it is possible to learn without visiting the 
south coast the amount and quality of mahogany is not sufficient to 
attract buyers from more promising fields. The marble is well worth 
examination by men of experience and capital. 

The exploitation of the island as a sanitary resort is, however, the 
enterprise which seems to promise the greatest return to the capitalist, 
as well as the greatest benefit to the island itself. The mineral 
springs, thermal baths, and healthy climate have already an estab- 
lished reputation. With sufficient capital to establish a large hotel 
and run a swift steamer of light draft to Batabano the island can be 
brought within eight hours or less of Habana, and the traveler runs 
no risk of sea sickness in the shallow sea inclosed by keys. A daily 
service would make the place attractive to business men of Habana 
and give a sale and outlet to many products not otherwise marketable. 
Very respectfully, 

Fred S. Foltz, 
Captain, Second Cavalry, 
Collector of Customs, Batabano, Cuba. 

A true copy : 

Fred S. Foltz. 



[Inclosure No. 5. — Dispatch No. 445.] 
ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT. 

We, the undersigned, hereby agree to subscribe seven hundred and 
fifty dollars toward a fund for the purchase of fifteen thousand (15,- 
000) acres of unimproved land from the finca or plantation of Santa 
Fe, near the town of Santa Fe on the Isle of Pines, upon an option 
held by Charles M. Johnson and Robert I. Wall, of Havana, Cuba. 

The full amount of this fund to be one hundred and fifty thousand 
dollars, to be divided into shares of seven hundred and fifty dollars, 
each share of which is exchangeable for one hundred acres of land in 
the above-mentioned tract, to be drawn by allotment, on or before 
April 1st, 1903, ten acres or more to each one hundred acres fronting 
on the Calzada or government road. We agree to pay our subscrip- 
tion as follows, viz : 

Fifty per cent on signing paper, balance on or before Februarv 1st, 
1903. 

For the purpose of carrying out this agreement, perfecting this 
company, and purchasing the above-mentioned land Ave appoint 
S. Doc. 205, 59-1 11 



162 ISLE .OF PINES. 

Charles M. Johnson and Robert I . Wall, of Havana, Cuba, Dr. T. L. 
James, Fairfield, Iowa, and Fred A. Spielman, Kansas City, Mo., as 
agents authorized to represent us, and we authorize them to purchase 
said lands on said option, the title of said lands being clear and per- 
fect. 

We agree that all funds shall be deposited in the Royal Bank of 
Canada, in the city of Havana, Cuba, to the order of the trustees, or 
agents, the said Royal Bank of Canada to pay to the owner of the 
above-mentioned finca or plantation the purchase price of the said 
15,000 acres, according to the option held by the said Johnson and 
Wall, upon an order signed by a majority of the trustees or agents. 
It is understood that this contract entitles the purchaser to a clear 
deed to 100 acres of this land without any additional expense, such as 
taxes, surveys, transfer, or any expenses incurred by this company up 
to the date of allotment, and the delivery of such deed to the pur- 
chaser shall terminate all rights and claims of said purchaser under 
this agreement. 

Dated this dav of , 190 — , at . 



Accepted and approved by — 

The Santa Fe Land Company, 
Per . 



[Inclosure No. 6. — Dispatch No. 445.] 
ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT. 

We, the undersigned, hereby agree to subscribe dollars to 

the capital stock of a company to be formed for the purchase of four- 
teen thousand (14,000) acres of unimproved land from the fincas or 
plantations of "Almacigos " and " Calabaza," near the town of Santa 
Fe on the Isle of Pines, upon an option held by Charles M. Johnson, 
Capt. Edwin C. Smith, Benjamin Mason, and Robert I. Wall. 

The capital stock of the company to be seventy thousand dollars, to 
be divided into shares of five hundred dollars, each share of which is 
exchangeable at the option of the owner for one hundred acres of 
land at any time prior to December 1st, 1902, in the above-mentioned 
tracts at five dollars per acre. We agree to pay our subscriptions as 
follows, viz, twenty-five per cent on signing paper. 

For the purpose of carrying out this agreement, perfecting this 
company, and purchasing the above-mentioned land we appoint 
Charles M. Johnson, of Havana, Cuba ; Robt. I. Wall and Benjamin 
Mason, of Daytona, Florida; and Capt. Edwin C. Smith, of Santa 
Fe, Isle of Pines, as an executive committee to represent us, and we 
authorize them to purchase said lands on said option, the title to said 
lands being clear and perfect. In case the whole amount ($70,000) 
is not subscribed by the first day of December, 1902, the money is to 
be returned to each of us, on presentation to the executive committee 
our receipts, showing the amounts paid by us. 

We agree that all funds shall be deposited in the Royal Bank of 
Canada, m the city of Havana, Cuba, upon an order of the trustees. 
Said Royal Bank of Canada to pay to the owner of the above-men- 
tioned fincas or plantations the purchase price of the said 14,000 



ISLE OF PINES. 



163 



acres according to the option held by the said Johnson, Wall, Mason, 
and Smith, and take a deed therefor ; the residue of the $70,000 to be 
turned over to the said parties holding the option, as their commission 
immediately upon payment for the land and delivery of the deed. 
Dated this day of , 1901, at . 



[Inclosure No. 7.— Dispatch No. 445.] 
SALES PRIOR TO MARCH 2, 1901. 







Incumbrances. 


Price. 




Mortgage. 


Censo. 


1900. 
July 6 


Julio Valdes Infante to Henry Haener 






$250. 0C 












SALES MARCH 2, 1901, TO MAY 19, 1902, INCLUSIVE. 



1901. 
May 2 
Aug. 23 

Nov. 16 
Dec. 7 

1902. 

Jan. 13 
13 
13 
13 
13 
13 
13 

Feb. 13 
27 

Apr. 10 
16 

May 17 



Benito Ortiz y Ortiz to Federico J. Da vies y Borrles. 
Enrique Gonzalez Sanchez to Isle of Pines Land and 

Development Co.. .. 

Bruno Hernandez Blanco to "William Mason 

Trinidad Valdes to Thomas Keenan Gaskell 



Benito Ortiz y Ortiz to John Tichenor 

Francisco Ortiz del Hierro to John Tichenor 

Benito Ortiz y Or tiz to John Tichenor 

Benito Ortiz y Ortiz to John Tichenor 

Damain y Andrez A. Abieu to John Tichenor 

Damain y Andrez A. Abieu to John Tichenor 

Matias Ortiz to John Tichenor 

Trinidad Valdez to Thomas Keenan Gaskell 

Quintina Acosta Guzman to Ela Rogers Clap 

Enrique Gonzalez Sanchez to Charles Johnson 

Benito Ortiz y Ortiz to Charles Johnson Wilson 

Ramon Aguirre Otamendi to John Mueller Herman. 

Total... 



§2,675.24 
22,648.36 
5,640.00 
11,280.00 
1,296.40 
3,460.00 
4,000.00 



302.27 



51,302.27 



$475.00 



475.00 



$500.00 

14,000.00 
15,000.00 
2,000.00 



2,846.00 

24,094.00 

6,000.00 

12,000.00 

1,380.00 

3,680.00 

6,000.00 

15,000.00 

800.00 

400.00 

800.00 

2,460.00 



107,210.00 



SALES SUBSEQUENT TO MAY 19, 1902. 



1902. 
May 24 

June 10 
Sept. 29 

29 

29 

29 
29 

Oct. 30 



Heirs of Juan Costa y Dominguez to the Isle of Pines 
Co 



Rafael Mas Arminan to Charles Keenan Gaskell 

Jose Miguel Tarafa y Armas to The Almacigos 

Springs Land Co.. 

Jose Miguel Tarafa y Armas to Edwin C. Smith & 

Wasigton 

Jose Miguel Tarafa y Armas to Robert J. "Wall & 

McKaig. 

Jose Miguel Tarafa y Armas to Lola E. Mason 

Jose Miguel Tarafa y Armas to Charles M. Johnson 

& "Wilson 

Francisco Ortiz del Hierro to Carl J. Homberg 

Homberg 



Total 



$87,975.22 



87,975.22 



$225.00 



225.00 



$118,000.00 
2,000.00 

30, 000. 00 

2,000.00 

2,000.00 
2,000.00 

2,000.00 

200.00 



158,200.00 



RECAPITULATION. 



Sales to May 19, 1902, inclusive. . 
Sales subsequent to May 19, 1902 

Total 



$51, 302. 27 
87,975.22 



139,277.49 



$475. 00 
225.00 



$107,210.00 
158, 200. 00 



700.00 : 265,410.00 



164 



ISLE OF PINES. 






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166 



ISLE OF PIJSTES. 



[Inclosure No. 10.— Dispatch No. 445.] 
Statement to accompany map of the Island of Pines, showing American ownership of land. 



Santa Rita de la Jagua: 

La Seiba 

El Canal 

Calabaza 

Hospital (not surveyed) 

San Carlos (estimated) 

La Vega (estimated) 

La Jagua 

San Juan: 

Santa Ysabel 

Celeste Esperanza (estimated). 

San Juan (matriz) 

Santa Fe: 

Los Almaeigos 

Cayo Bonito 

Clarita 

Paso de las Vegas 

Santa Fe 

Santa Rosalia: 

San Frisco de las Piedras 

Santa Rosalia 

Sierra de Casas: 

Asiento Viejo (not surveyed) .. 

Cuchilla Alta 

San Rafael de Paso Real 

Santa Barbara: 

Santa Teresa 

Concepcion 

San Rosario 

Santa Elena 

San Pedro: 

Lacunagua 

La Canada 

Cerro el Monte 

San Manuel de las Tunas 

San Pedro 

San Antonio de los Indios 

Reina Amalia 

La Esperanza 

San Jose 

El Hatillo 

La Cisterna 

Jorobado 

Carapachibey 

Palma Alta 

La Cienaga 



Ameri- 
can. 



Acres. 
4,361 
4,361 
3,524 



4,777 



530 



10, 726 



22, 218 



6,000 



43,480 



4,443 
5,554 



11, 109 
4,000 



5,000 



7,026 
57, 975 



211, 412 



Other. 



Acres. 



4,361 
7,850 



1,393 
38, 594 



332 

33 

66 

27, 437 

11, 109 



26, 345 



1,111 
6,664 
41, 098 



8,960 
5,554 



5,554 



57, 975 
40, 320 
19,140 



287, 568 



American Land Company holdings. 

San Jose Land Company (projected): Acres. 

San Jose 5,000 

Santa Fe Land Company: 

Santa Fe 27,437 

Isle of Pines Company: 

Santa Barbara 43,480 

San Carlos .' 4,777 

Santa Isabel 530 

Jarobado 57,975 

10 town lots in Nueva Gerona. 

Isle of Pines Land and Development Company: 

Santa Rosalia 22,218 

Almaeigos Spring Land Company: 

Calabaza 3,524 

Almaeigos 10,726 

Total held by land companies (30 per cent) - 170, 667 

Individuals (12 per cent) 40,745 

Total (42 per cent) 211,412 

Held by others than Americans (58 per cent) 287, 568 

Area of island 498,980 



ISLE OF PINES. 



167 



[Inclosure No. 11.— Dispatch No. 445.] 
List of stockholders of Santa Fe Land Company. 



Shares. 



Residence. 



E. A. Howard 

Wm. S. Hosford 

H. W. Long 

Mary J. Brown 

Wm. G. Thwarts 

C. S. Brown, trustee.. 

J. T. Callway 

Charles C. Clark 

Geo. D. Clark 

John E. Blomgren . . . 

Prank Plinspach 

Robert Plinspach 

C. J. Fulton 

Edward C. Flinspach. 

John T. Johnson 

J.T.Riley 

J.T.Mitchell 

A. L. and L. A. Craig . . 

I. N. Bryan 

Percy C. Hisel 

W. G. W. Geiger 

Chas.W.Wade 

JohnT.Hess 

C.P.Bodine 

L. J. Hirshberger 

H. A. Spielman 

J. L. Geiger 

W.S.Prewitt 

J. J.Symes 

Frank E. Grove 

John J. Seerly 

P.L.Gordon 

Delzell Green 

Gust Flinspach 

T. L. James 

J.F.Clark 

F. A. Speilman 

Clement J. Wall 

Benjamin Mason 

Robert I. Wall 

C. M. Johnson 

William Schultz 



Fairfield, Iowa 

Iowa City, Iowa... 
Escanaba, Mich . . . 

Marinette, Wis 

Milwaukee, Wis... 

Marinette, Wis 

Greenfield, 111 

Burlington, Iowa. . 

Fairfield , Iowa 

Norway, Mich 

Fairfield, Iowa 

do.' 

do 

do. 

Rockport, Mo 

St. Joseph, Mo 

Fairfield, Iowa 

Boulder, Colo 

Fairfield, Iowa 

do 

Tipton, Iowa 

Fairfield, Iowa 

Fond du Lac, Wis . 

Shelbina, Mo 

Fairfield, Iowa 

do 

Tipton, Iowa 

Fairfield, Iowa 

Marinette, Wis 

Menasha, Wis 

Burlington, Iowa . . 

Fairfield, Iowa 

do 

do 

do 

do 

Kansas City, Mo. . . 

Chicago, 111 

Isle of Pines , 

Habana, Cuba 

do 

Fond du Lac, Wis . 



1,125 

750 

7/>0 

1,500 

15, 000 

750 

75C 

75C 

750 

750 

730 

2, 250 

750 

750 

750 

750 

750 

750 

750 

1,500 

750 

750 

750 

750 

750 

750 

1,500 

1,500 

750 

750 

750 

750 

750 

2,250 

2,250 

2,250 

2,250 

2,250 

2,250 

2,250 

2,250 



Total subscription. 



62, 325 



[Inclosure No. 12. — Dispatch No. 445.] 
List of stockholders of the Almacigos Land Company. 



Name. 



Shares. 



Residence. 



Amount. 



A.E.Noble 

H.T.Sackett 

E.B.Wightman .... 

C. W. Schultz 

William B. Reed.... 

M. T. Simmons 

A. I. Reed 

William Williams . . 
S. E. Wall, guardian 

C.H. Brush 

George Bishop 

George V. Mears 

J.K.Blish 

C.E.Plum 

S.E.Wall 

Charles Saupe 

T.L.James 

Wm. Atwood 

E.W. Kellogg 

Wm. Wicking 

P.B.Haber 

O.J.Hill 

D.Francisco 



Fond du Lac, Wis 

do 

Fenton, Mich 

Fond du Lac, Wis 

Daytona, Fla 

Fond du Lac, Wis 

Daytona, Fla 

Santa Fe, Isle of Pines 

Osceola, Iowa 

Daytona, Fla 

Glendale, Ohio 

Fond du Lac, Wis 

Kewanee, 111 

Fond du Lac, Wis 

Osceola, Iowa 

Fond du Lac, Wis 

Fairfield, Iowa 

Daytona, Fla 

Santa Fe, Isle of Pines. 

Daytona, Fla 

Fond du Lac, Wis 

De Land, Fla 

Rutland, Vt 



500 

500 

500 

500 

500 

500 

500 

500 

500 

1,000 

500 

500 

500 

500 

500 

1,500 

1,000 

1,000 

1,000 

600 

500 

500 



168 ISLE OF PINES. 

List of stockholders of the Almacigos Land Company — Continued. 



Name. 



H. Francisco 

Arch. Fries 

A. N. Fries 

E. T. Fries 

W.J.Slinkard 

O.W.Macey , 

S.H.Gove 

Geo. Wells 

C.G.White 

Pert & Chessman 

Marion W. Preston.. 

J. W.Dennis 

H. T. Crane 

Chas. A. Baker 

J. Fred Clark , 

Thos. B. Van Bruen. . 

V. Vuillaume 

Ed. C.Martin 

Geo. and Ida Smith. . 

L. E. Storms 

G. S. Jnnkerman 

K.C.&C.A. Lind..., 

Margaret Gaines 

E. T. Mason 

Henry Mason 

Charlton Mason 

Wm. Mason, sr 

Wm. Mason, jr 

Alfred Brotherhood . 



Total subscription. 



Shares. 



Residence. 



Rutland, Vt 

Cincinnati, Ohio 

do 

Santa Fe, Isle of Pines . 

New York,N.Y 

Vinton, Iowa 

Daytona.Fla 

Oswego, N. Y 

Hastings, Fla 

Keene, N. H 

Boston, Mass 

Cincinnati, Ohio 

do 

New York,N.Y 

Fairfield, Iowa 

New York,N.Y 

Dayton, Fla 

Foiid du Lac, Wis 

Plainfield,Ohio 

Minneapolis, Minn 

Cincinnati, Ohio 

Santa Fe, Isle of Pines. . 
Columbia, Isle of Pines. 

New York, N. Y 

do 

do 

Fond du Lac, Wis 

New York City 

do 



Amount. 



1500 

1,500 
500 
500 
500 
500 

1,000 
500 
500 
500 

5,000 
500 

1,000 
500 
500 

2,500 
500 



500 

500 

500 

500 

500 

65 

65 

65 

65 

200 

200 



35, 160 



[Inclosure No. 13.— Dispatch No. 445.] 

Department of the Treasury, 

Ayuntamiento of the Island of Pines. 

MUNICIPAL BUDGET. 

Statement of receipts for the first and second halves of the fiscal year 1901-2: 
From — 

Collection pertaining to former years $715. 90 

Municipal patrimony 85. 56 

Special taxes 816. 20 

Extraordinary receipts 204. 47 

Direct taxes 3,401.06 

Total 5,223.19 



Statement of receipts for the first six months of the fiscal year 1902-3. 

From — 

Liquor licenses $206.00 

Carriage and transportation business 229. 00 

Territorial tax 475.49 

Industrial tax 689.14 

Slaughterhouse 289.50 

Tax on articles of luxury 44. 90 

Legal taxes 11. 00 

Surtaxes, fines, and indemnities 52. 45 

License quotas 28. 07 

Industries occasionally exercised 36. 25 

Collections pertaining to former years 422. 15 

Total 2,507.95 



ISLE OF PINES. 



169 



[Inclosure No. 14.— Dispatch No. 445.] 

Isle of Pines Company, 91-93 Fifth Avenue, 

New York, March 12. 
Hon. Herbert G. Squiers, 

Minister to Cuba. 
Dear Sir: We, the American citizens of the Island of Pines, would 
ask }^our influence in obtaining for us the following favors: 
First. Control of the government of the island by the United States. 
Second. Appointment of United States customs officials. 
Third. To have all deeds and documents relating to the island removed 
from Beyacal to this island and placed under the control of the United 
States Government. 

Fourth. Any form of government by the United States Government 
will be satisfactory to us. 



Charles Raynard. 

Wm. Mason. 

f. s. rothenheofer. 

A. A. Dewey. 

E. T. Fries. 

Dr. T. T. Thomas. 

W. Y. Pearcy. 

O. P. Parrish. 

E. W. Clark. 

W. K. RODGERS. 

E. R. Potter. 

Dr. Edw. R. Kellogg. 
Lester Brown. 
H. T. Rogers. 

F. M. Nelson. 
H. A. Peart. 
Wm. Flindt. 
L. M. Wire. 
W. F. Nelson. 

G. W. Durham. 
Wm. M. Williams. 
H. M. Wire. 

E. E. TOLKSDORFF. 

D. M. Rice. 
J. T. Mitchell. 

L. J. HlRSHBERGER. 

Bob Kay. 

F. T. Mason. 
T. D. Jaynes. 
F. C Mason. 

F. R. Ramsdall. 
J. A. Potter. 
S. L. Baltzell. 
P. N. Odoardo. 

D. M. Pearcy. 

E. C. Rogers. 
D. C. Gillespie. 



Aaron Koritzky. 

P. A. Howe. 

V. W. Travies. 

A. F. Odoardo. 

J. J. Symes. 

H. R. Langdon. 

C. D. Daniel. 

Ira A. Brown, Columbia. 

Thos. Chadwick. 

0. P. Sutherland. 

E. W. Kellogg. 
A. Corbin. 

J. O. McBeth. 
R. P. Ewing. 

1. C. Foster. 
Jas. Jenks, Sr. (?) 
W. R. Leitler. 
W. L. Moralez. 

F. James Shabaker, O. W. (?) 
J. H. Bickford. 

E. B. Curtis. 
Thos. L. James. 
P. J. Coen. 
H. Fuls. (?) 
Vance Mills. 
O. F. Harrington. 
M. A. Carter. 
Benjamin Mason. 
A. L. Greider. 

G. D. Roberts. 
Fred F. Baggesen. 
Robert I. Wall. 
C F. Hohnburg. 
Gus Jones. 
Shelton Floyd. 

S. H. Pearcy. 



170 ISLE OF PINES. 

Exhibit C. 

[Confidential. — For use of members of Committee on Foreign Relations.] 



"ISLE OF PINES." 

The first treaty by which the United States relinquished its claim 
in favor of the Republic of Cuba to the Isle of Pines was signed 
July 2, 1903, and provided that ratifications should be exchanged 
within six months from that date. 

That treaty was considered b} 7 the Committee on Foreign Relations 
and favorably reported to the Senate, but considerable objection to its 
ratification having developed in the Senate, it was recommitted to the 
committee, and not acted upon before it expired on February 2, 1904. 

The treaty under consideration was signed on March 2, 1904, trans- 
mitted to the Senate by the President, and referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations. It is similar in terms to the first treaty, ex- 
cepting .that there is no limit as to the time of the exchange of 
ratifications. 

The treaty contains four articles, the first three articles being as 
follows (the fourth relating to ratification) : 

Article I. 

The United States of America relinquishes in favor of the Republic of Cuba 
all claim of title to the island of Pines situate in the Caribbean Sea near the 
southwestern part of the island of Cuba, which has been or may be made in 
virtue of Articles I and II of the treaty of peace between the United States and 
Spain, signed at Paris on the tenth day of December, eighteen hundred and 
ninety -eight. 

Article. II. 

This relinquishment, on the part of the United States of America, of claim of 
title to the said island of Pines is in consideration of the grants of coaling and 
naval stations in the island of Cuba heretofore made to the United States of 
America by the Republic of Cuba. 

Article III. 

Citizens of the United States of America who, at the time of the exchange of 
ratifications of this treaty, shall be residing or holding property in the island 
of Pines shall suffer no diminution of the rights and privileges which they have 
acquired prior to the date of exchange of ratifications of this treaty ; they may 
remain there or may remove therefrom, retaining in either event all their rights 
of property, including the right to sell or dispose of such property or of its pro- 
ceeds ; and they shall also have the right to carry on their industry, commerce, 
and professions, being subject in respect thereof to such laws as are applicable 
to other foreigners. 

The treaty of peace between the United States and Spain provides 
in Article I that— 

Spain relinquishes all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba. 

Article II o*f the treaty of peace provides that — 

Spain cedes to the United States the island of Porto Rico and other islands 
under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and the island of Guam, in the 
Marianas or Ladrones. 

A strict construction of the treaty of peace with Spain would prob- 
ably give to the United States title to the Isle of Pines. However, it 



ISLE OF PINES. 171 

appears from a memorandum prepared by the division of customs and 
insular affairs in the War Department, found in Executive D, page 
25, that— 

It appears that there are certain environments of the Isle of Pines which 
complicate the question as to whether it is a part of Cuba or not. While there 
is a separation from the mainland by water nearly thirty miles in width, this 
water is so shallow that the use of the island as a penal colony had to be 
abandoned, because with certain conditions of wind and tide it was possible for 
the convicts to wade from the island to Cuba. Some of the most intelligent 
Cubans are represented by a recent newspaper article as holding that the Isle 
of Pines has always geographically been treated as a portion of Cuba and that 
the military government of Cuba has uniformly evaded decision of the question. 

It also appears from a statement made by Senor Tamayo, then sec- 
retary of state and government of Cuba, on August 10," 1900, in re- 
sponse to a letter referred by our military governor (p. 21, supra) : 

1. That the Isle of Pines is an integral part of the territory of the island of 
Cuba and constitutes a municipal termino under the jurisdiction of the civil 
governor of the province of Habana, of which it forms a part, in conformity 
with the first annexed note of the royal decree of the 9th of June, 1878, and it 
pertains also to the judicial district of Bejucal within the jurisdiction of the 
audiencia of Habana. 

The ownership of the Isle of Pines being disputed, it was provided 
in Article VI of the Piatt amendment that — 

The Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional bounda- 
ries of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty. 

It was pursuant to this article of the Piatt amendment that the 
present treaty was negotiated. 

It will be noted that in Article II of the present treaty it is stated 
that the United States relinquishes claim of title to the Isle of Pines 
in consideration of the grants of coaling and naval stations in the 
island of Cuba heretofore made to the United States by Cuba. 

Cuba, by the agreement of Februarj'' 16, 1903, has leased to the 
United States areas of land for coaling and naval stations in Guan- 
tanamo and in Bahia Honda, both on the island of Cuba, for which 
the United States agrees by the agreement of July 2, 1903, to pay the 
small annual rental of $2,000. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLE. 

It is difficult to give an accurate description of the Isle of Pines, as 
the statements in reference to the isle by citizens of the United States 
who have invested money on the isle differ considerably from the 
statements issued by our War Department, and found in Executive 
Document D (supra). 

The Isle of Pines was discovered by Columbus in 1494, who named 
it La Evangelista. In the fifteenth century it was the headquarters 
of bands of pirates; and it was afterwards used by Spain as a penal 
island. For many years, however, and until the Spanish-American 
war, it was used by Spain as a garrison for her troops. 

The report issued by the War Department (56) states that the 
island contains 986 square miles of territory, or 631,040 acres. " The 
southern part, comprising about one-third of the entire area, is an 
impassable cienaga, or salt bayou and lagoon, interspersed by islets 



172 ISLE OF PINES. 

and rocky ledges, or locally known ' dogtooth ' or coral rock, and 
occupied by fishermen." 

The statement given to the press from the Bureau of Insular 
Affairs says (p. 11, Executive D, supra) that — 

The agricultural resources of the island are as follows: Rich land, 10 per 
cent; land of doubtful agricultural value, 10 per cent; savannas, covered with 
mangroves and palinettoes, 25 per cent ; swamp and low ground, covered with 
mangroves, 25 per cent ; mountains and steep hills, 25 per cent. The land thus 
named lies north of the cienaga. Of the land denominated rich, only a very 
small percentage is actually under cultivation, but the nature of its growth 
shows the value of the soil. Of the entire surface of the island but 1 per cent 
is now under cultivation. As an example of the wonderful variety of products 
of the island, it is mentioned in particular that one farm of less than thirty- 
three acres actually in cultivation produces coffee, sugar, chocolate, cocoa, 
cocoanuts, plantains, bananas, sweet potatoes, cassava (from which laundry 
starch may be made), malangoes (which answer for potatoes), rice, beans, let- 
tuce, tobacco, honey, fowls, pigs, and cattle. 

The rich, arable land of the island is not found in large tracts, but in scat- 
tered patches among the hills, which are suitable for tobacco patches rather 
than sugar plantations. The demand for consumption in the island is small 
and the freight rates to the mainland high. Hence the only agricultural prod- 
uct that commands a ready cash market is tobacco. Of this staple the island 
exported last year about 3,000 bales of 100 pounds each. This year the amount 
will fall to 2,000 bales or less, for the reason that the workers who had come 
to this island from Vuelta Abajo came to escape the war. They have now 
returned to their old homes, where the reputation of the leaf, if not its actual 
superiority, gives the laborer who cultivates it a larger return for his work. 

To sum up, in brief, the material resources of the island are as follows : 

Fine timber for the saw is not large. The area of cane land is insignificant. 
High freights and distance to market make agricultural produce valueless 
except for home consumption. The amount and quality of mahogany is not 
sufficient to attract buyers from more promising fields. This, of course, apper- 
tains to the northern part of the island. Tobacco culture is capable of great 
development. Men of capital and experience will do well, the official states, 
to inspect the marble quarries. The greatest returns to the capitalist, as well 
as the greatest benefit to the island itself at present, seem to lie in its future as 
a sanitary resort. The island can be brought within eight hours or less of 
Ilabana, and the traveler runs no risk of seasickness in the shallow sea inclosed 
by keys. A close connection can be made with Habana, provided sufficient 
capital is invested, by establishing a swift steamer of light draft to Batabano. 

This report also says that the isle is a paradise for pigs. 

The population of the isle is said to be 3,199. There are two towns 
on the island — Santa Fe, with a population of 150, and New Gerona, 
with a population of 300. 

The statement of the War Department as to the size of the island 
and its value for agricultural purposes differs materially from the 
statement of Mr. Wall, who made a statement before Senator Allison 
and myself, which is attached hereto and marked " B." 

Mr. Wall says that " the island contains 1,240 square miles, or 
800,000 acres, of which 200,000 are low and swampy and useless for 
agricultural purposes, but the finest of hard woods and all that are 
found there. The rest of the island consists of about 600,000 acres of 
as fine fruit lands as you can find." 

The climate of the island is said to be splendid and very healthful, 
the thermometer ranging from 65 to 90 degrees. 

There are noted mineral springs on the island, of considerable cura- 
tive value. 

There is a mountain of marble on the island, which is said to be 
valuable. 

There are harbors, which can only be made valuable by the expendi- 
ture of considerable money for dredging, etc. 



ISLE OF PINES. 173 

In reply to a communication addressed to the Secretary of the 
Navy as to the value of the island for naval purposes, the following 
was received : 

Navy Department, 
Washington, December 9, 1903. 
Sir : In reply to your letter of the 5th instant, requesting to be informed as 
to the value of the Isle of Pines to the Navy Department, and also in regard to 
report on the island, the Department has to inform you that it has never made 
a report on the Isle of Pines. 

Although not specifically mentioned in any of its correspondence, the Isle of 
Pines has been considered by the General Board, Navy Department, among 
other places in making recommendations on the subject of naval and coaling 
stations in Cuba. The character of the island, its anchorages and neighboring 
waters, are well known, and the opinion of the board is that the Isle of Pines 
is of no value to the United States for naval purposes. 
Very respectfully, 

Chas. H. Darling, 
Assistant Secretary. 
Hon. S. M. Cuixo&i, 

United States Senate. 

CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES ON THE ISLE OE PINES. 

There is considerable difference of opinion as to the number of 
citizens of the United States on the Isle of Pines. Minister Squiers 
(statement hereto attached, marked "A") says that there are a little 
more than 300. Mr. Wall (statement hereto attached, marked " B ") 
says that there are between four and five hundred. Mr. Keenan, 
who has large interests on the isle, saj r s that there are a thousand. 

A number of these citizens of the United States have stated that 
they invested in the Isle of Pines supposing that the isle was owned 
by the United States. 

In the correspondence, found in Executive D (supra), particularly 
at pages 38, 51, and 53, it is substantially stated that these citizens of 
the United States " believed from the wording of the Piatt amend- 
ment, as well as the treaty of Paris, that the island was undoubtedly 
American territory." 

Mr. Wall (" B ") says that he based his belief that the island 
belonged to the United States on information found in maps, etc., 
issued by railroad companies, and also on the reading of the treaty 
with Spain. 

It is alleged bj other citizens of the United States owning prop- 
erty in the Isle of Pines that their investments were made on infor- 
mation furnished by the War Department that the isle belonged to 
the United States. 

It is true that the following letters were written by Assistant Sec- 
retary Meikle John and Assistant Adjutant-General Pershing: 

War Department. 
Washington, August Ik, 1S99. 
Sir : Referring to your communication of the 10th instant, soliciting informa- 
tion respecting the Isle of Pines, I am directed by the Assistant Secretary of 
War to advise you that this island was ceded by Spain to the United States 
and is therefore a part of our territory, although it is attached at present to 
the division of Cuba for governmental purposes. 

A copy of an official report on the. Isle of Pines is inclosed for your informa- 
tion, and you are advised that the disposition of public lands must await the 
action of Congress. 

Very respectfully, John J. Pershing. 

Assistant Adjutant-General. 
Mr. George Bridges, Carlisle, Pa. 



174 ISLE OF PINES. 

War Department, 
Office of the Assistant Seceetaey, 

Washington, D. C, January 13, 1900. 
Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt, by reference from the hon- 
orable the Secretary of State, of your letter of the 20th ultimo, asking if the 
islands south of Cuba, formerly belonging to Spain, now belong to the United 
States or to Cuba ; whether you have a right to hunt along the coasts thereof in 
a boat too small to enter at the custom-house, carrying probably 100 pounds of 
ammunition, two or three guns, and two months' provisions for two men, and 
requesting publications descriptive of said islands. 

In reply, you are advised that the Isle of Pines was ceded by Spain to the 
United States, and therefore is a part of our territory, although it is attached 
at present to the division of Cuba for governmental purposes. 

G. D. Meiklejohn, 
Assistant Secretary of War. 
Mr. L. C. Leith, 

NW. Corner Market and Eighteenth streets, Galveston, Tew. 



War Department, 
Office of the Assistant Secretary, 
Washington, D. C, January 15, 1900. 
Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt, by reference from the Presi- 
dent, of your letter of the 6th instant, asking if the Isle of Pines belongs to the 
United States and whether it is subject to the homestead laws of this country. 

In reply I beg to advise you that the Isle of Pines was ceded to the United 
States by Spain, and is therefore a part of our territory, although it is at present 
attached to the division of Cuba for governmental purposes. The homestead 
laws of the United States have not as yet been applied thereto, and this question 
must await Congressional action. 

Very respectfully, G. D. Meiklejohn. 

Assistant Secretary of War. 
Mr. A. C. Goff, 

Bluff Springs, Escambia County, Fla. 



But soon after the writing of the above letters the Department 
changed the form of its answers to persons inquiring as to the owner- 
ship of the Isle of Pines. The Department declined to give an 
opinion as to the ownership of the isle, and said that " the territorial 
limits of the United States does not pertain to the Department," and 
after the passage of the Piatt amendment, the Department in its 
reply simply quoted the wording of that amendment. 

(See Executive Document D, supra, for forms of replies sent out by 
the War Department, pages 24-25-26, 29, 30, 33-35, 36-371.) 

It is true that citizens of the United States own large tracts of land 
on the Isle of Pines. A part of this land was purchased for specula- 
tive purposes, and a part of it was purchased by citizens of the United 
States who expected to make their permanent home on the isle and 
engage in fruit raising, etc. 

Minister Squiers says, in reference to the purchase of land by com- 
panies, in a report made to the Secretary of State, that — 

The Isle of Pines Company bought 106,775 acres ; the Isle of Pines Land and 
Development Company bought 22,218 acres ; the Santa Fe Land Company bought 
24,437 acres. Over 80 per cent of the land now held by Americans in the island 
was purchased by or through these companies. These companies own or have 
owned 170,667 acres, or 30 per cent of the total acreage of the island. 



ISLE OF PINES. 175 

The following communication, signed by Mr. T. J. Keenan, was 
referred to me by Senators : 

Pittsburg, Pa., November 23, 1903. 
Senator M. S. Quay, 

Washington, D. C. 

My Dear Senator : I am informed that the Committee on Foreign Relations 
has reported affirmatively the treaty ceding the Isle of Pines to Cuba. While it 
may be impossible to prevent the cession of the territory, I ask in behalf of the 
probably 1,000 Americans who reside or have financial interests on the island, 
that you use your influence to secure an amendment of the treaty before it is 
ratified. 

When the treaty was under negotiation at Habana, United States Minister 
Squiers guaranteed to a committee which waited upon him in behalf of the 
American Association of Residents and Investors on the Isle of Pines that the 
treaty would contain provisions safeguarding American interests. The most 
important of these provisions were : 

The establishment of a stable form of insular government with some form of 
judicial tribunal for the trial ot ordinary cases. 

The opening of a port of entry at the capital of the island. 

The removal to Nueva Gerona from Bejucal, Cuba, of the land records pertain- 
ing to the Isle of Pines. 

The establishment of an American school at some point on the Isle of Pines. 

Minister Squiers declared that there was no objection to these concessions on 
the part of the Cuban Government, and in addition to the pledge to the com- 
mittee, repeatedly assured individual Americans having homes on the island 
that they would be secured. 

Next to the question of national affiliation, the above points were those for 
which the Americans most strongly contended ; three of them being regarded by 
Americans and natives alike as essential to the welfare of the island. As a 
result of Minister Squiers's assurances, therefore, heavy additional investments 
were made in the island, until nearly three-fourths of it is now in American 
hands. ' 

Not a single one of Minister Squiers's promises are made good in the treaty 
which has been submitted to the Senate for consideration. Not only American, 
but every other interest of the island is threatened with ruin if the promised 
reforms are not secured. Under the Spanish Government the island was pur- 
posely cut off from all intercourse with the outside world, but enjoyed a 
measure of prosperity through the maintenance of a military government with a 
large garrison of Spanish troops. Now that the island has been thrown upon its 
own resources, all it asks, aside from the American flag, which it seems it is not 
to have, is a decent opportunity to take care of itself. 

The Isle of Pines it at present absolutely without any form of government. 
The highest official in a territory almost as large as Rhode Island is the alcalde 
of a town of 1,000 inhabitants, exercising an indefinite authority over the sur- 
rounding territory. There are no judicial tribunals. The children of American 
parents are absolutely without educational opportunities, and a great portion of 
the time no schools are conducted in any language. 

Owing to the absence of all records from the island, the cost of land transfers 
is prohibitive except where valuable properties are involved. The absence of a 
port of entry prevents the development of the island's commercial possibilities. 
The duty on the imports and exports of the island is collected at ports on the 
island of Cuba and goes into the Cuban treasury. Not one cent of it is 
expended for the benefit of the Isle of Pines. Improvements commenced during 
the American occupation have been left unfinished. Government bridges are 
falling down, and the island receives no more attention from the Cuban Govern- 
ment than if it was in the Arctic Ocean. 

Minister Squiers is fully conversant with this deplorable condition of affairs 
and has promised again and again to have it remedied if a transfer of 
sovereignty was made. He has even gone further than this, and volunteered, in 
case the island was surrendered to Cuba, to see that every American who so 
desired should have the opportunity of disposing of his land at cost to the Cuban 
Government. Witnesses can be brought to substantiate all these assertions. 

I earnestly protest, in behalf of every resident and property holder upon the 
Isle of Pines, against the abandonment of this territory by the United States 



176 ISLE OF PINES. 

Government without some steps to mitigate the evils from which it has suffered 
since the war with Spain. 

Very truly, yours, T. J. Keenan, 

President American Society of Residents 

and Investors on the Isle of Pines. 

After receiving a number of such communications from different 
Senators, I requested the Secretary of State to instruct Minister 
Squiers, who was then in the United States, to call upon me, which 
Minister Squiers did on December 2d, and gave the statement hereto 
attached, marked "A." 

From this statement it will be seen that Minister Squiers contra- 
dicts a number of Mr. Keenan's statements, but sa,ys that Cuba is 
willing to comply with all of the requests made by citizens of the 
United States on the Isle of Pines, and set out in Mr. Keenan's com- 
munication. 

Since this statement was given by Minister Squiers it appears from 
the correspondence attached hereto, " C " — 

1. That Cuba has no intention of establishing a leprosy hospital or 
a general penal institution on the Isle of Pines (note of July 2). 

2. By order of the Department of the Treasury a custom-house has 
been established in Nueva Gerona in the Isle of Pines (commencing 
January 1, last) , and the said port in the Isle of Pines was declared a 
port of entry, etc., and a collector provided therefor. 

3. There has been established in Nueva Gerona, Isle of Pines, a 
public school, in which teachings are in English and Spanish. 

4. On December 9, 1903, it was reported that one branch of the 
Cuban Congress had passed a bill creating a property registry and a 
court of first instance and inquiry in the Isle of Pines. 

It will be seen from the above, and from the correspondence hereto 
attached, that the Government of Cuba is showing every disposition 
to comply with all reasonable requests of the citizens of the United 
States on the island. 

To summarize briefly : 

The title to the isle is disputed ; 

The United States has obtained from Cuba valuable naval and 
coaling stations in part consideration, at least, of the relinquishment 
of our claim to the isle ; 

The executive department of the Government does not deem the 
isle of value to the United States ; and 

The Cuban Government has either already complied with, or has 
agreed to comply with, the various demands of the citizens of the 
United States residing on the Isle of Pines. 



Appendix. 



A. Statement of Minister Squiers. 

B. Statement of Mr. Wall. 

O. Correspondence with Cuban Government in reference to leprosy hospital 
and penal colony on Isle of Pines ; port of entry ; property registry ; and teach- 
ing of English language in schools. 

"A." 

Statement of Hon. Herbert G. Squiers, minister to Cuba, before Senator Cul- 
lom, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, in reference to a treaty 



ISLE OF PINES. 177 

between the United States and Cuba, signed on July 2, 1903, for the adjust- 
ment of title to the ownership of the Isle of Pines, December 2, 1903. 

Senator Cullom. You are the minister of the United States to Cuba? 

Mr. Squiees. Yes, sir. 

Senator Cullom. I have received a number of letters, some written directly 
to me and others sent to me by different Senators, purporting to have been 
written by citizens of the United States who own land in the Isle of Pines, 
complaining of the treaty under consideration and making statements to the 
effect that you, as minister of the United States, had given assurances or pledges 
to such citizens of the United States, before the treaty was signed, that the 
interests of the citizens of the United States in the Isle of Pines would be pro- 
tected ; that the isle would be given a port, judicial tribunals, an office for the 
recording of deeds, etc., and that Cuba would not establish a leper colony on the 
isle. I wish you to state, so far as you can consistently do so, what transpired 
before you made this treaty, and whether you actually gave to American citizens 
or to anyone else the pledges to which I have referred. 

Mr. Squiees. I will go back to last March, when I brought the coaling-station 
treaty up here, and when I met some of those people and listened to what they 
had to say in regard to the Isle of Pines. Although I had no instructions from 
the State Department, I thought it would be better, before entering into such a 
treaty, for the Department to know the conditions down there, how many people 
there were there, and so forth. So when I returned to Habana and the legation 
I prepared a set of question on blank forms, and with Mr. Fletcher, the second 
assistant secretary, I went to the Isle of Pines and remained three or four days 
there. During that time I saw every American on the isle, except three or four, 
and these questions were read to each of them, and their respective answers 
were taken down without any cross-questioning whatever. Each man was 
allowed to answer the questions in his own way and give the full extent of his 
holdings and property. From the answers to those questions I made up a report, 
a statistical report, showing exactly what these people had there, and sent it 
to the State Department, where it is on file now. 

While on the Isle of Pines I talked to these people about their grievances. 
To begin with, they did not want to send their children to Cuban schools, where 
they were only taught Spanish. Then there was a great deal of trouble on 
account of recording of deeds — a great deal of expense — they had to be sent to 
the mainland and finally to Havana. Another complaint was that there was no 
port of entry ; everything had to come through Havana. At that time they 
wanted to make a connection with Mobile and New Orleans by a special line of 
steamers. Then they were very much afraid that the leper hospital in Havana 
would be transferred to the Isle of Pines. They were dissatisfied with the 
alcalde. 

Senator Cullom. Who is he? 

Mr. Squiees. He is the mayor or really the governor of the isle. They 
also wanted courts on the isle. I do not think they had any courts at all, even 
for minor offenses. 

I told the people there that I thought all of these things could be arranged 
with the Cuban Government, and they can be, and I so reported to the Depart- 
ment, and when the treaty was finally signed the Cuban Government wrote a 
note in which they agreed to do all these things if it were practical to do so. 
Since then I have had many talks with Mr. Zaldo, and they are now preparing 
to do all these things. They will not transfer the leper hospital to the Isle of 
Pines. They will gh r e the isle a port of entry. They will send three judges 
there. They will give them an English-speaking teacher to teach in the Cuban 
schools, and they will establish courts of records, so all these deeds can be filed. 

But as to my guaranteeing to these Americans on the isle that I would do 
anything else except what I could for them, of course it is absurd. I could not 
make any such a guaranty. I could not act for my Government in that way, 
and I could not pledge the Cuban Government. All I could do was to do 
the best I could for them. 

Senator Cullom. But so far none of these things which the Cuban Government 
promised to do has been done? 

Mr. Squiees. Nothing actually done. The Cuban Government has done some- 
thing in the way of having cabinet meetings and discussing the matter back and 
forth. They told me there was no objection to any of these things, and they 
wrote a note, which accompanied the draft of the treaty, in which they said 
that they would do these things if they could. 

Senator Cullom. Would they have any objection to inserting such provisions 
in the treaty? 

S. Doc. 205, 59-1 12 



178 ISLE OF PINES. 

Mr. Squiers. T think they would. I asked the State Department about it and 
the Department did not think it was necessary. 

Senator Cullom. All this talk was before the treaty? 

Mr. Squiers. Yes, sir ; a good while. I talked to Mr. Zaldo and warned him 
about this very protest. I told him that the people on the island would make 
these objections, and it would be better for the Cuban Government to do these 
things at once, before the objections could come up. 

Senator Cullom. Do you think that these things will actually be carried out? 

Mr. Squiers. I think so. The port would not cost anything, the English 
teacher would cost but a few dollars a month, and so on. One thing that Mr. 
Keenan wanted was the appointment of the alcalde of the island by the President 
of Cuba, thinking that the appointment could in that manner be controlled 
through our legation ; but while they were quite willing to agree to that, it 
would be contrary to their constitution. 

The Cuban Government is perfectly willing to do anything it can for the 
American people on the Isle of Pines — in fact, they are a little afraid of 
Americans generally. The Cuban Government is ready to do anything they can 
that is not directly contrary to their laws. 

All this stuff here, the basis of this complaint [referring to Keenan letter of 
November 23], the Cuban Government is going to do. 

Senator Cullom. This letter says that there are a thousand Americans there 
now. Is that true? 

Mr. Squiers. There are certainly not more than 300. Of course, I was there 
some months ago, and at the time I was there there were not 300 people. 

Senator Cullom. Mr. Keenan does not actually live there except in winter? 

Mr. Squiers. These people who are complaining most are the land speculators. 
The people who actually own the land, I think, are quite well satisfied. There 
are no taxes in Cuba except on improved property, and the taxes are very low. 

Senator Cullom. This letter of Mr. Keenan's says that " when the treaty was 
under negotiation at Habana, United States Minister Squiers guaranteed to a 
committee which waited upon him that the treaty would contain provisions 
safeguarding American interests." 

Mr. Squiers. No committee ever waited on me. Mr. Keenan did come to see 
me, and I showed him the notes I had made of the things I was trying to bring 
about with the Cuban Government ; and I asked Mr. Keenan if he would not 
assist me by getting up a. petition stating just what they wanted of Cuba so I 
could show it to the Cuban Government. I never heard from Mr. Keenan from 
that day to this. 

Senator Cullom (continuing reading Keenan letter) : 

" The establishment of a stable form of insular government with judicial 
tribunals. 

" The opening of a port of entry. 

" The removal to Nueva Gerona from Bejucal, Cuba, of the land records per- 
taining to the Isle of Pines." 

Mr. Squiers. To transfer the records to the Isle of Pines will take an act of 
Congress. They say they will ask for the law from Congress. Of course they 
can not guarantee the law. 

Senator Cullom (continuing Keenan letter) : 

" The establishment of an American school at some point on the Isle of Pines." 

Can not the Americans down there establish any kind of schools they want 
themselves ? 

Mr. Squiers. Yes ; but of course they would have to support such a school. 
But the Cuban Government is very willing to put in an English teacher in the 
Cuban school, but our children down there ought to learn Spanish as well as 
English. 

Senator Cullom. This letter says that as a result of your assurances heavy 
additional investments were made in the island? 

Mr. Squiers. So far as additional investments are concerned, I don't think 
there were ten dollars invested between the time when they saw that this 
treaty was going to be made, ceding the island to Cuba, and the time when it 
was actually signed. Those who were living there or intending to do so prob- 
ably went on and completed their investments. But people who owned property 
that would be improved in case the island became a part of the United States 
did not make further investments. 

Senator Cullom. What do you think about the propriety of amending the 
treaty so as to embody these matters in it? Would the Cuban Government 
accept it? 



ISLE OF PINES. 179 

Mr. Sqtjiees. I think they would be very much disappointed, because they 
would think we were trying to drive a hard bargain with them. They are 
willing to do these things without a treaty. 

Senator Cullom. Do you apprehend that you will have trouble in getting the 
Cuban Government to actually do these things? 

Mr. Sqtjiees. No, sir ; I do not think so at all. They are of course very slow. 
Perhaps they have been slow because the treaty was not ratified. I told them 
that it would help the ratification of the treaty if they would do these things 
first, but they did not look at it in that way. 



Statement of Mr. Wall, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a property owner in the Isle 
of Pines, before Senator Cullom and Senator Allison on December 3, 1903 : 

Senator Cullom. You are a citizen of the United States? 

Mr. Wall. Yes, sir. 

Senator Cullom. How long have you been on the Isle of Pines? 

Mr. Wall. I have been interested in the Isle of Pines, off and on, for about 
three years. It is the greatest place in the world. The climate is charming. 
It never gets hotter than 90 in the extreme heat of the afternoon in the hottest 
part of the year, and never gets cooler than 65. I became interested in the Isle 
of Pines because I was interested in the raising of oranges. I did not want to go 
to Cuba, but wanted to be in United States territory, and when I got to looking 
over Cuba I heard so much about the Isle of Pines, which for many years has 
been a summer resort for wealthy people in Habana (just as the Cataline 
Island is for wealthy Los Angeles people), that I decided to go there. We were 
the first Americans there ; now there are between four and five hundred Ameri- 
cans on the island. 

Senator Allison. How many natives? 

Mr. Wall. Between 3,000 and 2,500. 

Senator Cullom. What do you do there? Is there anything to cultivate 
except fruit and vegetables? 

Mr. Wall. Of course sugar and tobacco could be raised there just as it is in 
Cuba, but I do not believe there is any sugar raised there. When it comes to 
citrus fruits, oranges, grape fruit, and all those tropical fruits and early vege- 
tables, the soil and climate is peculiarly adapted to such cultivation. The land 
is very fine stock land. The land is watered by natural springs, and you can 
go all over the island, and I have never seen any scum on the water. It is cold 
and clear. 

Senator Cullom. There is a part of the island good land and another part 
poor land? 

Mr. Wall. There are 1,240 square miles ; that is, the area of the island is 
1,240 square miles. We are 90 miles from Habana — 30 by rail and 60 by sailing. 
We are in the same latitude as the finest provinces for tobacco growing in Cuba. 
The island is 30 by 40 miles and contains 800,000 acres of land, of which about 
200,000 lie in the northern part, and are low and swampy and useless for agri- 
cultural purposes, but the finest of hard woods and all that are -found there. In 
fact, you look at many of the cottages of the natives and you will see the finest 
doors made of the most expensive solid mahogany. I have a cane made out of 
14 different kinds of expensive hard woods grown on the Isle of Pines. This 
200,000 acres is separated from the northern part by a very narrow neck of land. 
The rest of the island consists of about 600,000 acres of as fine fruit lands as 
you can find. On the west side it is a little mountainous. There is a big moun- 
tain there which is composed of solid marble ; in fact, all the fine marble used 
in the public buildings in Habana comes from the Isle of Pines. They get all 
the charcoal for use in Habana on the Isle of Pines. 

Senator Cullom. Were you led to believe that the Isle of Pines was to be a 
part of the United States? 

Mr. Wall. Every one of us went in there under the supposition tbat it was to 
belong to the United States. Up until the very day that General Wood with- 
drew from Habana, and it was turned over to Cuba, you could not find a Cuban 
or Spaniard in Habana, if you were to mention tbe Isle of Pines to him, that 
would not say that is Americano. Everybody in Cuba and everybody in Habana 
regarded the Isle of Pines as belonging to tbe Americans. The railroad maps 
advertising such railroads as tbe Burlington, the Northwestern, all repre- 



180 ISLE OF PINES. 

sented the Isle of Pines sis belonging to the United States. In fact that is the 
way I come to make my investment there. I thought the railroad people knew 
their business. 

Senator Cullom. Have you a railroad on the island? 

Mr. Wall. No, but we are going to have one this winter. The Isle of Pines 
is free from disease. There has never been a case of yellow fever or typhoid 
fever or malaria on the Isle of Pines within the recollection of the oldest inhab- 
itant. There has never been a tornado there. The range of mountains protects 
the island from the tornadoes coming from the Caribbean Sea. 

Senator Cullom. You were not in any way guaranteed, by our minister or 
anybody else representing the Government of the United States, that the Isle of 
Pines was to belong to the United States? 

Mr. Wall. We went by the treaty of Paris. The treaty of Paris ceded to the 
United States Porto Rico and all the other islands belonging to Spain in the 
West Indies. The Isle of Pines is separated from Cuba by 60 miles of sea, and 
is a separate and distinct island. 

Senator Cullom. It was a construction of the Paris treaty that satisfied you 
that we were going to keep the isle? 

Mr. Wall. Yes ; and the newspapers and what I read and heard, and so on, 
and the general understanding in Habana that it belonged to the United States. 

Senator Cullom. What is the complaint of you people on the isle to its being 
ceded to Cuba? The only reason that you complain is, that you are not a part 
of the United States? Are you going to suffer on that account? 

Mr. Wall. Naturally we will. 

Senator Cullom. How? 

Mr. Wall. For this reason, that we want to get people down there. We want 
the island filled up and settled up. While we have four or five hundred Ameri- 
cans there now, if it was United States territory there would be more than 
5,000 in no time, but no one wants to go down there under the Cuban Govern- 
ment. It is uncertain. We have been promised a number of things that we 
have not received. 

Senator Cullom. What were you promised? 

Mr". Wall. We were promised records, or that a recorder's office would be 
established on the isle, and we have not got it. 

Senator Cullom. You went there when the thing was entirely uncertain what 
was going to happen to you, and you went at your own risk? 

Mr. Wall. No, sir. We went there sure it was United States territory from 
reading the papers, maps, and general information that we received. I re- 
garded it when I invested my money there as absolutely United States terri- 
tory, and there wasn't a man or woman on the island that did not think so, and 
who did not think that when Cuba was turned over and we withdrew our forces 
from Cuba that a government would be established. I can prove by reputable 
witnesses that General Wood, at a banquet at Habana shortly before he left, 
promised us a de facto government. 

A large number of our troops were stationed in the Isle of Pines during the 
American occupation and they built a turnpike road 17 miles long. 

Senator Allison. Are there any good ports there for landing shipments? 

Mr. Wall. Yes, sir; there are three. There is a big bay which, with a very 
trifling improvement in the way of dredging, would accommodate the navies of 
the world. 

Senator Cullom. Was not quite a thorough examination made by the Navy 
and War Departments of the resources of the islands? 

Mr. Wall. I think they sent a lieutenant there who made a report, and T 
don't think he got out of Gerona. He might have got over to Sta Fes. 

The soil of the Isle of Pines for raising fruits is better than any of the noted 
land in California that sells for two, three, or four hundred dollars an acre. 
An acre of oranges develops to the same state of maturity in three years on the 
Isle of Pines which would take five years in California. A man can take an 
acre of that land in the Isle of Pines and plant it in fruit, and in three or four 
years it will be worth from three to four hundred dollars an acre. 

Senator Allison. Can you get the fruit to market in New York? 

Mr. Wall. That is where we have the advantage over California. We are 
only 1,200 miles from New York, and but 600 from Mobile and New Orleans. 
We have the cheapest and best transportation that is possible — the water 
transportation. The regular line of vessels from New York to. Habana will 
stop for shipments at the Isle of Pines whenever we want them to do so. 

Senator Cullom. Suppose Cuba will give you a port of entry, give you Ameri- 



ISLE OF PINES. 181 

can teachers, give you courts, and a place to record your deeds — is there any- 
thing else you want? 

Mr. Wall. We want to be citizens of the United States. 

Senator Cullom. Suppose you can't obtain that. Would you be satisfied with 
the things I have named V 

Mr. Wall. Certainly ; if we have those things. 

Senator Allison. What flag is flying there now? 

Mr. Wall. The Cuban flag. 

Senator Ailison. How long has that flag been flying? 

Mr. Wall. Only since our troops left Cuba. The island of Pines is already 
Americanized. Three-fourths of the 600,000. acres of good land is owned by 
Americans, and every one of those Americans went there to live. They are not 
speculators ; there is no speculation going on. 

Senator Allison. How much have you invested there? 

Mr. Wall. I have invested $25,000. 

Senator Allison. Tell me what sort of people the native inhabitants are? 

Mr. Wall. The native inhabitants are quiet, harmless, inoffensive people. 
They are good natives, honest, and straightforward, and are much better than 
the native Cubans. There is no criminal class there at all, and they feel kindly 
toward the Americans. 



" C." 

Department of State, 
Washington, December 11, 1908. 
Hon. Shelby M. Cullom, 

Chairman Committee on Foreign Relations, 

United States Senate. 
Sib : In the absence of Secretary Hay. who is confined to his room, I have the 
honor to transmit herewith the copies asked for in your personal note to him of 
the 5th instant, of the report by Minister Squiers concerning the island of 
Pines and of the note from the Cuban Government by which declaration is made 
of certain intentions of that Government in regard to the island. 

I have also the honor to inclose for the information of your committee a copy 
of a telegram received on the 9th instant from Mr. Squiers regarding certain 
matters connected with tbe island. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

F. B. Loomis, Acting Secretary. 



[Translation of inclosure No. 3, dispatch No. 585.] 

No. 649.] Department of State and Justice, 

Division of State, 
Habana, July 2, 1903. 

Mb. Minister : Referring to the memorandum which your excellency pre- 
sented to me some days ago relative to certain petitions which in the name of 
your Government you make to the Government of the Republic in favor of 
American citizens established in the island of Pines, I have the honor to inform 
you that the Government has no intention to establish a general leprosy hospital 
at that place nor any penal institution ; that it will study the manner of making 
a port of entry in the island of Pines as soon as possible ; that it will recommend 
to the Congress the creation of a property registry in said island, a law being 
necessary for the creation thereof; and that it will endeavor to see that in one 
of the public schools existing in the island there shall be a teacher of English 
to teach said language. 

I must likewise inform your excellency that on account of the island of Pines 
being a part of Cuban territory it will have to partake of the same administra- 
tive and political system that the constitution and the laws establish for the 
entire Republic; and that, therefore, the appointment of the mayor and other 
administrative officers must be made in the manner the constitution and laws 
prescribe. 

I should also state to your excellency that the foregoing statements can not be 
interpreted in any case as a demandable obligation of the Republic of Cuba, for 
it is not within the powers of the Government to assume sucli; but as the 



182 ISLE OF PINES. 

expression of the willingness it has to place that portion of Cuban territory in 
the condition necessary for its development and the welfare of its inhabitants. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to again convey to your excellency the testi- 
mony of my most high and distinguished consideration. 

Jose M. GarcIa Montes, 

Acting Secretary. 
His Excellency Mr. Herbeet G. Squiees, 

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 

of the United States of America. 



[Telegram.] 

Habana, December 9, 1903. (Received 8 p. m.) 

Secretary of State, Washington: 

Referring to dispatches numbers 541, of May 30, and 585, of July 3 last, I have 
to inform you that the Cuban Government has to-day advised me by note " that 
there has just been established in the town of Nueva Gerona, island of Pines, a 
public school in which the teachings are in English and Spanish, and to which 
children of foreign citizens resident in said island can have access ; " and " that 
the Government proposes to establsh a port of entry in the said island for for- 
eign commerce, and that a customs office will begin operation shortly at said 
port." That at the instance of the Government " the House of Representatives 
has approved a bill creating a property registry and a court of first instance and 
inquiry in the said island," which will probably receive the approval of the 
Senate. 

If this arrangement is satisfactory, I shall leave for New York on Ward Line 
steamer sailing Saturday next. 

Squiees. 



No. 541.] Legation of the United States of America, 

Habana, Cuba, May 30, 1903. 
Hon. John Hay, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 
Sir: I inclose a draft of a letter containing certain conditions relative to the 
administration of the Isle of Pines, which I propose, if the Department approves, 
to submit to the Cuban Government, the conditions to be agreed to in the form 
of a note to accompany the treaty when signed. 

While the agreement would not in any sense be a part of the treaty, probably 
the legation would have but little difficulty in inducing even a future Cuban 
government to observe its conditions, and it would mollify the opposition of the 
American residents of the island of Pines to the treaty. 
I have the honor io be, sir. your obedient servant, 

H. G. Squiees. 



[Inclosure in No. 541.] 

The Cuban Government agrees, in order to further safeguard the rights of 
American, citizens residing in the Isle of Pines : 

1. To maintain at least one school on the island where the English language 
shall be taught by an English-speaking teacher. 

2. That no leper or other hospital shall be established or maintained for 
the treatment or cure of nonresident patients suffering infectious diseases ; and 
that no penal institution shall be established or maintained, excepting for the 
safe-keeping and care of local prisoners. 

4. That a port of entry and clearance shall be immediately established at 
some convenient point in the island. 

5. That a court of record shall be immediately established at Nueva Gerona 
and all land records of the island transferred to and deposited there. 

6. That the alcalde and other administrative officers of the island shall be 
appointed by the President of Cuba. 



ISLE OF PINES. 183 

Department of State, 
Washington, December 28, 1903. 
The Hon. S. M. Cuixom, 

Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

United States Senate. 
Sir : I have the honor to inclose for your information copies of two dis- 
patches from the United States legation at Habana, reporting the administra- 
tive measures taken by the Cuban Government for the Isle of Pines. 
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

F. B. Loomis, 

Acting Secretary. 



Washington, D. C, December 16, 1903. 
The Hon. John Hay, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 
Sir : I have the honor to confirm on the overleaf my telegram of the 9th 
instant from Habana and Department's reply of the 10th, and also to transmit 
copy of Mr. Zaldo's note to me of December 9, No. 1157, relative to Isle of Pines 
matters. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

H. G. Squiebs. 



[Telegram.] 

Habana, December 9, 1903. 
Secstate, Washington: 

Referring to dispatches numbers 549, of May SO, and 585, of July 3 last, I 
have to inform you that the Cuban Government has to-day advised me by note 
" that there has just been established in the town of Nueva Gerona, Island of 
Pines, a public school in which teachings are in English and Spanish, and to 
which children of foreign citizens resident in said island can have access," and 
" that the Government proposes to establish a port of entry in the said island 
for foreign commerce, and that a custom office will begin operation shortly at 
said port/' That at the instance of the Government " the House of Represent- 
atives has approved a bill creating a property registry and a court of first in- 
stance and inquiry in the said island," which will probably receive the approval 
of the Senate. 

If this arrangement is satisfactory, I shall leave for New York on Ward Line 
steamer sailing Saturday next. 

Squiebs. 



[Telegram.] 

Washington, December 11, 1903. 
Squiebs, Minister, Habana: 
You may use your own pleasure as to time of returning to United States. 

Loomis, Acting. 



[Inclosure to dispatch of December 16, 1903.] 

No. 1157.] Depabtment of State and Justice, 

Habana, December 9, 1903. 

Mb. Minister: I take pleasure in stating to your excellency that I have been 
informed by the secretary of public instruction that there has just been estab- 
lished in the town of Nueva Gerona, Island of Pines, a public school, in which 
the teachings are in English and Spanish, and to which children of foreign citi- 
zens resident in said island can have access. 

I have the pleasure to communicate to your excellency at the same time that 
the Government proposes to establish a port of entry in the said island for 
foreign commerce and that a customs officer will begin operations shortly at 
said port. 

Furthermore, as your excellency will have seen by the newspapers, the House 



184 ISLE OF PINES. 

of Representatives has approved a bill creating a property registry and a court 
of first instance and inquiry in said island,, and all indications are that the 
bill will receive the approval of the Senate. 

I take pleasure in communicating to your excellency all of the above as 
ratification of the intentions of the Government expressed in tbe note which, 
on July 2, and numbered 649, was addressed to your excellency by this depart- 
ment. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to your excellency the assurance 
of my most high and distinguished consideration. 

Caelos de Zaldo, Secretary. 
His Excellency Mr. Herbert G. Squiers, 

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 

of the United States of America. 



Department of State, 

Washington, March 8, 1901 h 
Dear Sir : In accordance with your request, I have the honor to transmit, 
for the information of the Committee on Foreign Relations, a copy of a dis- 
patch from our minister in Cuba, setting forth the improvements in the admin- 
istration of the Isle of Pines which the Cuban Government has made and pro- 
poses to make. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, yours, 

John Hay. 
The Hon. S. M. Cullom, 

Chairman Committee on Foreign Relations, 

United States Senate. 



Habana, December 9, 1903. (Received 8 p. m.) 
Secretary of State, Washington: * 

Referring to dispatches numbers 541, of May 30, and 585, of July 3 last, I 
have to inform you that the Cuban Government has to-day advised me by note 
" that there has just been established in the town of Nueva Gerona, Island of 
Pines, a public school in which the teachings are in English and Spanish, and 
to which children of foreign citizens resident in said island can have access," 
and " that the Government proposes to establish a port of entry in the said 
island for foreign commerce, and that a customs office will oegin operations 
shortly at said port." That at the instance of the Government " the House 
of Representatives has approved a bill creating a property registry and a court 
of first instance and inquiry in the said island," which will probably receive 
the approval of the Senate. 

If this arrangement is satisfactory, I shall leave for New York on Ward Line 
steamer sailing Saturday next. 

Squiers. 



No. 773.] Legation of the United States of America, 

Habana, Cuba, December 17, 1903. 
The Hon. John Hay, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 
Sir : I have the honor to inclose herewith copy and translation of Presidential 
decree, No. 190, of December 10, 1903, establishing a custom-house at the port 
of Nueva Gerona, Island of Pines, from the 1st of January next, in accordance 
with the provisions of article 4 of the customs regulations. 
And to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

Jacob Sleeper, 
Charge d' 'Affaires ad Interim. 



ISLE OF PINES. 185 

[Inelosure to dispatch No. 773. — Official Gazette of December 10, 1903.] 

Department of the Treasury. 
Decree No. 190.] 

By virtue of the authority vested in me, and in concurrence with the council 
of secretaries on the recommendation of the secretary of the treasury, I have 
deemed it well to order the following : 

1. A custom-house shall be established in the port of Nueva Gerona, in the 
Island of Pines, from the 1st of January next, in accordance with the provisions 
of article 4 of the customs regulations. 

2. The collector of said custom-house shall have jurisdiction over all the coast 
of the said island, which is hereby separated from the subdistrict of Batabane. 
to which it belongs at present. 

3. .The port of Nueva Gerona is declared a port of entry for the importation 
and clearance, transit, and transfer of merchandise, in conformity with the pro- 
visions of said customs regulations, and subject to the rules and regulations of 
the customs tariff and all other explanatory or complementary dispositions. 

4. The personnel of said custom-house shall be : 
One collector, with an annual salary of $1,200. 

Two customs officers, one with an annual salary of $600, the other $400 — the 
latter being the office now existing in the custom-house at Batabano, which 
(office of customs officer) is hereby abolished. 

5. The secretary of the treasury will issue the instructions necessary to en- 
force the foregoing. 

Habana, December 11, 1903. 

T. Estrada Palma. 
Jose M. Garcia Montes, 

Secretary of the Treasury. 



Department of State, 
Washington, December 2.'t, 1908. 
Hon. Shelby M. Cullom, 

United States Senate. 
Sir : I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy of a note written by Seiior 
Zaldo, Cuban minister of foreign affairs, to the United States minister to Cuba, 
on December 9. concerning the Isle of Pines. Mr. Squiers is now in this country. 
Very respectfully, yours, 

Francis B. Loomis. 



[Inelosure to dispatch of December 16, 1903.] 

No. 1157.] Department of State and Justice, 

Habana, December 9, 1903, 

Mr. Minister: I take pleasure in stating to your excellency that I have been 
informed by the secretary of public instruction that there has just been estab- 
lished in the town of Neuva Gerona, Isle of Pines, a public school, in which 
the teachings are in English and Spanish, and to which children of foreign citi- 
zens resident in said island can have access. 

I have pleasure to communicate to your excellency at the same time that the 
Government proposes to establish a port of entry in the said island for foreign 
commerce and that a customs office will begin operations shortly at said port. 

Furthermore, as your excellency will have seen by the newspapers, the House 
of Representatives has approved a bill creating a property registry and a court 
of first instance and inquiry in the said island, and all indications are that the 
bill will receive the approval of the Senate. 

I take pleasure in communicating to your excellency all of the above as ratifi- 
cation of the intentions of the Government expressed in the note which, on July 
2, and numbered 649, was addressed to your excellency by this department. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to your excellency the assurance of 
my most high and distinguished consideration. 

Carlos de Zaldo, Secretary. 

His Excellency Mr. Herbert G. Squiers, 

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 

of the United States of America, etc. 



186 ISLE OF PINES. 

Exhibit D. 

[Senate Document No. 201, Fifty-seventh Congress, second session.] 

To the Senate : 

In response to the resolution of the Senate of February 16, 1903, 
requesting the President, " if in his judgment the same be not incom- 
patible with the public interests, to inform the Senate as to the pres- 
ent status of the Isle of Pines, and what government is exercising 
authority and control in said island ; what instructions, if any, regard- 
ing said island were given at the time when the military occupation of 
Cuba by the United States was terminated ; and what action, if any, 
has been taken for the protection of the interests of citizens of the 
United States who have purchased property and settled in the Isle of 
Pines," I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War. 

Theodore Roosevelt. 

White House, February 28, 1903. 



War Department, 

Washington, February 27, 1903. 
The President: 

I have the honor to return the following resolution of the Senate, 
dated February 16, 1903 : 

Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested, if in his judg- 
ment the same be not incompatible with the public interests, to inform the Sen- 
ate as to the present status of the Isle of Pines, and what government is exer- 
cising authority and control in said island ; what instructions, if any, regard- 
ing said island were given at the time when the military occupation of Cuba by 
the United States was terminated ; and what action, if any, has been taken for 
the protection of the interests of citizens of the United States who have pur- 
chased property and settled in the Isle of Pines — 

with the following information appearing upon the files of the War 
Department : 

The present status of the Isle of Pines is shown by the sixth article 
of the enactment commonly known as the Piatt amendment, contained 
in the army appropriation act of March 2, 1901, as follows : 

That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional 
boundaries of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty ; 

and in the sixth article of the Appendix to the Cuban Constitution, 

as follows : 

Abt. 6. The Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the boundaries of Cuba speci- 
fied in the constitution, the title of ownership thereof being left to future adjust- 
ment by treaty. (See Report of the Secretary of War, 1902, page 121) ; 

and in the provisions of the instrument transferring the government 
of Cuba to the president and congress elected by the people thereof 
on the 20th day of May, 1902, as follows : 

It is understood by the United States that the present government of the Tsle 
of Pines will continue as a de facto government, pending the settlement of the 
title to the said islands by treaty pursuant to the Cuban constitution and the 
act of Congress of the United States approved March 2, 1901. (See Report of 
the Secretary of War, 1902, page 122.) 

The nature of the de facto government under which the Isle of 
Pines was thus left pending the determination of the title thereof by 



ISLE OF PINES. 187 

treaty is shown in the following indorsement upon a copy of the said 
resolution by the late military governor of Cuba : 

[First indorsement.] 

Office of Late Military Government of Cuba, 

Washington, February 20, 1903. 
Respectfully returned to the Bureau of Insular Affairs. At the date of trans- 
fer of the island of Cuba to its duly elected officials the Isle of Pines constituted 
a municipality included within the municipalities of the province of Habana and 
located in the judicial district of Bejucal. The government of the island is 
vested in its municipal officers, subject to the general control of the civil gov- 
ernor of the province of Habana, who is vested under the constitution of Cuba 
with certain authority in the control of municipal affairs. Under the military 
government of Cuba the Isle of Pines was governed by municipal officials, sub- 
ject to the general authority of the civil governor, who received his authority 
from the governor-general. The Isle of Pines, as it had existed under the mil- 
itary government, was transferred as a de facto government to the Cuban Repub- 
lic, pending the final settlement of the status of the island by treaty between the 
United States and Cuba. The action taken by the military government was in 
accordance with telegraphic orders from the honorable the Secretary of War. 
The government of the island to-day is in the hands of its municipal officers, 
duly elected by the people, under the general control of the civil governor of 
the province of Habana and the Republic of Cuba. As I understand it, the 
government of the Isle of Pines is vested in the Republic of Cuba, pending such 
final action as may be taken by the United States and Cuba looking to the ulti- 
mate disposition of the island. " No special action was taken to protect the 
interests of the citizens of the United States who have purchased property and 
have settled in the Isle of Pines, for the reason that no such action was neces- 
sary. All Americans in the island are living under exactly the same conditions 
as other foreigners, and if they comply with the laws in force it is safe to say 
that they will not have any difficulty or need special protection. At the time 
these people purchased property they understood distinctly that the question of 
ownership of the Isle of Pines was one pending settlement, and in locating there 
they took the risks incident to the situation." 

This indorsement by General Wood also answers the question of 
the resolution regarding the protection of interests of citizens of the 
United States so far as this Department is able to furnish information 
thereon. 

Elihu Root, Secretary of War. 



VIEWS OF THE MINORITY. 



Mr. Morgan submitted the following- views of the minority of the 
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on the Isle of Pines treaty 
(Ex. J, 58th Cong., 2d sess.): 

This treaty compels the consideration of our national, political, 
industrial, and commercial relations with the Republic of Cuba, at 
least to the extent of making provision for the preservation of peace 
and amity with the people of Cuba. 

The future relations of that Republic with foreign nations is a sub- 
ject that intimately concerns the relations of the United States with 
such foreign governments as may seek to enter into treaty engage- 
ments with Cuba, as Great Britain is now doing. . A treat} 7- giving to 
Great Britain very important commercial rights is now before the 
Cuban Senate for ratification. 

Our attitude toward the island of Cuba, its people, and its Govern- 
ment is fixed by compact and also by treaty, unless the legislative 
compact has been dissolved by the consent of both Governments 
through the substitution of treaty obligations for the compact con- 
tained in the Piatt amendment and in the constitution of Cuba. 

WHY THIS TREATY MUST BE AMENDED. 

Whether our present relations with the Government of Cuba are 
fixed by compact or by the less binding obligations of a ''permanent 
treaty" (which may always be dissolved by either of the signatory 
powers, for just cause, or in consequence of changed conditions, under 
the laws of nations), in either case the addition of the Isle of Pines to 
the territorial limits of Cuba by the act of the United States does not 
bring that island within the provisions of the Piatt amendment, as to 
the suzerainty of the United States created by that amendment over 
the island and Government of Cuba. To place the Isle of Pines on a 
footing with the other provinces of Cuba, as to the suzerainty of the 
United States as it is fixed by the Piatt amendment, it is necessary to 
incorporate such a provision in the pending treaty, 
yy The Piatt amendment, the constitution of Cuba, and the treaty withA 
Cuba proclaimed July 2, 1904, all expressly exclude the Isle of. Pines 
from the territorial limits of Cuba and from the constitutional sov- 
ereignty of the Government of Cuba, and that island is not now 
affected by nor is it subject to the suzerainty of the United States as 
it is fixed in the Piatt amendment. It will not become subject to those 
rights and powers of government, that are reserved to the United 
States in the Piatt amendment, over the island of Cuba, unless it is so 
provided in the treat}^ of cession, relinquishment, or sale, whichever 
may be its character. 

S. Doc. 205, 59-1 13 189 



190 ISLE OF PINES. 

If Cuba should annex Santo Domingo or Panama, as it has the sov- 
ereign right to do with the consent of those Republics, the claim 
of the United States that such annexation extended all the provisions 
of the Piatt amendment over such annexed territory would be absurd. 
It is not less so if Cuba shall acquire the Isle of Pines under the 
pending treaty. 

THE LAW OF THIS CASE IS FIXED BY THE PLATT AMENDMENT. 

If the Isle of Pines ever belonged to Cuba in a geographical sense, 
or as a political dependency, or in the full rights of sovereignty, such 
rights were completely extinguished by its exclusion from the limits 
of Cuba by the express provisions of the Piatt amendment, and by the 
constitution of Cuba, and b} r the treaty with the United States of July 
2, 1904. 

This careful provision, thrice repeated in the most solemn form, 
ought to be sufficient to silence the assertion by Cuba or by anyone, 
however high in official station, that the Isle of Pines "continues to 
be a part of Cuba and that it is not and never has been territory 
of the United States." If it never was in any sense "territory of 
the United States," what possible right could our Congress have to 
require, as they did in the Piatt amendment to an appropriation bill, 
that Cuba should expressly exclude the Isle of Pines from her terri- 
torial limits by a provision in her constitution? 

No logic can answer or evade that question, except that of arbitrary 
compulsion accompanied with force, or the mandate of some autocratic 
and imperial will of conceded supremacy. 

The Senate may yield to such a command, but in doing so it will 
ignore its constitutional rights and powers and abdicate its rightful 
guardianship over the trust reposed in them by the people when they 
ordained the Government of the United States. 

The Government of Cuba, in the very act of its creation by a law of 
the United States known as the Piatt amendment, was excluded from 
jurisdiction of every nature over the Isle of Pines and from such rights 
of supremacy in the island of Cuba as are here quoted from the Piatt 
amendment, as follows: 

I. 

That the Government of Cuba shall never enter into any treaty or other contract 
with any foreign power or powers which will impair or tend to impair the inde- 
pendence of Cuba, nor in any manner authorize or permit any foreign power or 

j powers to obtain by colonization or for military or naval purposes or otherwise, lodg- 

S ment in or control over any portion of said island. 

II. 

The said Government shall not assume or contract any public debt, to pay the 
interest upon which, and to make reasonable sinking-fund provision for the ultimate 
discharge of which, the ordinary revenues of the island, after defraying the current 
expenses of government, shall be inadequate. 

III. 

That the Government of Cuba consents that the United States may exercise the 
right to intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence the maintenance of 
a government adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty, 
and for discharging the obligations with respect to Cuba imposed by the treaty of 
Paris on the United States now to be assumed and undertaken by the Government 
of Cuba. 



ISLE OF PINES. 191 

IV. 

That all acts of the United States in Cuba during the military occupancy thereof 
are ratified and validated, and all lawful rights acquired thereunder shall be main- 
tained and protected. 

V. 

That the Government of Cuba will execute, and as far as necessary extend, the 
plans already devised, or other plans to be mutually agreed upon, for the sanitation 
of the cities of the island, to the end that a recurrence of epidemic and infectious 
diseases may be prevented, thereby insuring protection to the people and commerce 
of Cuba, as well as to the commerce of the southern ports of the United States and 
the people residing therein. 

VI. 

I That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional bounda- 
ries of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty. 

VII. 

That to enable the United States to maintain the independence of Cuba, and to \ 
protect the people thereof, as well as for its own defense, the Government of Cuba s 
will sell or lease to the United States lands necessary for coaling or naval stations at / 
certain specfied points, to be agreed upon with the President of the United States. / 

VIII. 

That by way of further assurance the Government of Cuba will embody the fore- 
going provisions in a permanent treaty with the United States. / y 

THE STATUS OF CUBA TOWAUD THE UNITED STATES. 

It is far from being- true that Cuba, under these provisions of law 
emanating from the supreme sovereignty of the United States and 
accepted and quoted in the constitution of the Republic, was ever 
free, or sovereign, or independent in its relations with the United 
States. In its relations to other powers it is independent, and has 
our guaranty that it shall so remain, but it is not independent of 
the United States, as is shown by this guaranty and by all the other 
provisions of the Piatt amendment. 

It is free in that its domestic and foreign policy shall be free from 
the control of other governments, but that is not true of its relations 
with the United States. 

It is sovereign in respect of its people and their government within 
its limits. Yet our Congress may enact laws of sanitation, and as to 
the preservation of the peace, and as to the public debt of Cuba, that 
are paramount to the laws enacted by Cuba. These facts create a pro- 
tectorate over Cuba and its government and people, in which the 
United States is the sovereign protector and they are vassals. It is 
insincere and unbecoming to refuse to recognize the truth of this sit- 
uation, or to attempt to define it in terms that are less distinctive, 
because such a policy has always been the favorite plan of extending 
the power and influence of imperial rulers. 

Our great Republic has adopted' this policy as to Cuba, and it is no 
less imperial because a free government has chosen to adopt it. 

Whether or not this departure in government can be justified by the 
Constitution and plan or theory of the Government of the United States 
it is too late to revoke it as to Cuba. It has received the sanction of 
every department of the Government of the United States, and is as 



192 ISLE OF PINES. 

firmly rooted in our national policy as if it had been expressly provided 
for in the Constitution of the United States. 

It has been extended to the Republic of Panama in the guarantee of 
her independence, and it is the real basis on which we are proceeding 
to exert our governing - power over the financial resources of Santo 
Domingo. We have launched the ship bearing the flag of protection, 
not under the Monroe doctrine, but under the doctrine of the Piatt 
amendment and, in that right, supported by the action of Congress, 
which is the political power of the Government, we will exercise these 
abnormal functions of government for better or for worse. In Cuba 
these powers are established beyond denial or obstruction so long as 
the United States chooses to maintain its protectorate, and, so long as 
it is maintained, the protectorate should be extended to any acquisi- 
tions of territory that are made by Cuba. 

WE ARE DEALING WITH CONDITIONS THAT ARE ENTIRELY NEW. 

New conditions have arisen in the Isle of Pines since the enactment 
of the Piatt amendment that deeply concern our people, who have 
occupied it and built their homes there. If this treaty is ratified it 
will require those settlers to expatriate themselves and to submit to 
conditions of government that are abhorrent to them and to every 
intelligent citizen of the United States, or else to accept the condi- 
tions of government that Cuba shall impose upon them as foreigners. 
These conditions are proven by testimony that is convincing and suf- 
ficient, which is set forth in the appendixes to this report and in the 
report of the majority of the committee. 

If the conditions had existed when the Piatt amendment was 
■enacted that now exist, it is beyond question that provision would 
have been made by Congress for the relief and security of our citizens 
in the Isle of Pines. The testimony is conclusive that the present 
conditions have grown largely out of the provisions of the Piatt 
amendment, its interpretation by our people and by the War Depart- 
ment and by other departments of the Government, and in conse- 
quence the acts of our Government in dealing with the island and our 
people there. 

NO ACT OF THE GOVERNMENT, IN PURSUANCE OF LAW, OR IN VIRTUE OF 
LAWFUL AUTHORITY, HAS ADMITTED TITLE IN CUBA TO THE ISLE OF 
PINES. 

Article VI of the Piatt amendment, in its widest possible interpre- 
tation, contains no admission of title in Cuba to the Isle of Pines. On 
the contrary, it disaffirms the existence of such title in the provision 
"that the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitu- 
tional boundaries of Cuba." No title to the Isle of Pines could legally 
exist be} T ond those boundaries. Then the language of the act pro- 
ceeds — "the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty." 
The possession of the island is not specifically provided for, but it fol- 
lows the title by the intendment of law, and did not break away from 
the title and cross "constitutional boundaries" to claim a rightful 
lodgment in Cuba. Congress made no such absurd provision in the 
Piatt amendment. 

In fact and in law the title and the possession remained in the 
United States until the island should be otherwise disposed of. This 



ISLE OF PINES. 193 

is true under the provisions of article 2 of the treaty of Paris, and is 
equally true under the contention of the negotiations of Spain, which, 
is set out in Appendix A to this report as follows: 

They (the United States) did claim sovereignty over the latter (Porto Eico) and over 
the other islands surrounding Cuba which will render impossible the independence of 
the latter without the good will and gracious consent of the United States, which 
will always have it at their mercy through their control over the island, which inclose 
it like a band of iron. 

This understanding is sustained, positively, by the statement of one 
of our commissioners who negotiated the treaty of Paris, and is acting 
chairman of this committee, Hon. Wm. P. Frye, Senator from Maine. 
He stated to the committee that the commissioners of the United States 
did not regard the Isle of Pines as being a part of Cuba, but as a sep- 
arate island that was ceded to the United States in article 2 of the 
treaty of Paris, which is in these words: 

Spain cedes to the United States the island of Porto Rico and other islands now 
under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and the island of Guam in the Mari- 
naroes or Ladrones. 

THE ONLY OBLIGATION OF THE PLATT AMENDMENT TOUCHING THE ISLE 
OF PINES IS TO TEEAT WITH CUBA RESPECTING THE ADJUSTMENT OF 
THE TITLE. 

The Piatt amendment neither gives, concedes, conveys, relinquishes, 
nor sells the Isle of Pines to Cuba, nor is any such promise made or 
to be implied from its language. The only promise is that the United 
States will treat with Cuba as to the Isle of Pines, " the title thereto 
being left to future adjustment by treaty." Cuba and the President 
of the United States could have treated as to the adjustment of the 
title at any time after Cuba became a treaty-making power under the 
Piatt amendment, which became a law March 2, 1901 . It was not until 
May 20, 1902, that the Government of Cuba was transferred to Cuban 
authorities, and the pending treaty was concluded March 2, 1904, 
nearly two }' , ears after Cuba had become a treaty-making power, and 
nearly five years after the War Department wrote to George Bridges, 
on the 14th of August, 1899: 

I am directed by the Assistant Secretary of War to advise you that this island (the 
Isle of Pines) was'ceded by Spain to the United States, and is therefore a part of our 
territory, although it is attached at present to a division of Cuba for governmental 
purposes. 

As to the " adjustment' 1 of the title, we are ready to negotiate, but 
no reason has appeared that can justify a surrender. 

The change of conditions in the Isle of Pines respecting our own 
people, and under the circumstances thus proven to have contributed 
to it, would justify a refusal to treat with Cuba or would have caused 
Congress to be more specific in providing for the safety and welfare 
of our people there if there had been any doubt as to the actual owner- 
ship of the island. No such doubt really existed in the minds of Con- 
gress, as is shown by the letter of Hon. O. H. Piatt to J. C. Lenney, esq., 
dated November 5, 1902, which is copied in Appendix C to this minor- 
ity report. Senator Piatt worded the amendment which bears his 
name to meet his view of the title and to leave the question open to 
'.'adjustment," not to sale, surrender, or relinquishment, but to deci- 
sion as matter of law or of right and to the adjustment of the title to 
the best interests of all concerned. 



194 ISLE OF PINES. 

At that time Senator Piatt knew of the changed conditions in the 
Isle of Pines, and he had no purpose of exposing our people to the 
dangers, disappointments, and losses that would follow if the title of 
the United States should be lost or transferred to Cuba by any means, 
without an adjustment of those conditions to an entirely new situation 
as to the title to the Isle of Pines. 

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS COMPEL US TO HOLD TO THE LITTLE WE HAVE. 

The phases of the question presented in the foregoing remarks lead 
to other considerations of great and immediate importance that bear 
upon our proper course of action on this treaty. 

The protectorate of the United States over Cuba is veiy galling to 
the pride of the powerful Spanish element that remains in that island. 
They would not yield the Isle of Pines to the United States for any 
amount of money nor for any other consideration. To placate this 
party the government of Cuba is very insistent that we shall surrender 
our claim to the Isle of Pines. 

It is a political question in Cuba, and not one that involves any con- 
siderable advantages to the governing power, if she should acquire 
the island. 

Before the Republic was established the Isle of Pines for many years 
was a penal colony of Cuba, and since, they have governed the island 
under that legal enormity of a de facto government, created by the 
order of a military officer of the United States, when in the act of 
withdrawing from Cuba, b} 7 displacing- the de jure government of his 
own countiy and hauling down its flag and turning over all govern- 
ment, civil and military, to Cuba. 

The want of legal authority for such a de facto government, its 
irregularities and atrocities, which are proven in the papers set forth 
in the appendixes to this report, and the hostility thus engendered in 
the Isle of Pines toward Cuban domination, create a very serious 
situation that can not be ignored or lightly considered. It will bring 
trouble to both Governments that will be very difficult to repress. 

With an angered and outraged American population there the Isle 
of Pines would be a standing menace to Cuba, whose dissatisfied peo- 
ple would gather there for purposes of mischief. 

On the island of Cuba political feeling is very intense, and violence 
is a constant attendant upon the contentions of political parties. 

If we turn OA 7 er Pine Island to Cuba it will be unsafe to leave 
our people there, and, if possible, they should be removed at almost 
any reasonable cost. If they are maltreated b} 7 the Cubans their 
appeal for protection to our Government, or our people, will 
not be in vain. Our protectorate over Cuba, which gives us the 
right " to intervene for the maintenance of a government adequate 
for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty" will force 
us to intervene, at least for their protection. In such event, the first 
American soldier that enters Cuba will be attacked by Cubans under 
the lead of Cuban politicians, whether they are Spaniards or Liberals, 
and from that hour the destiny of Cuba will be that of Ireland, or of 
Egypt, and that Rupublic will disappear. Or, if we should prohibit 
Cuba from making a treaty with some great power that violates the 
Piatt amendment, «or if we should compel her to spend money to pro- 
tect us from yellow fever, we may well apprehend like consequences. 



ISLE OF PINES. 195 

The treat}^ now under consideration has become a proceeding against 
our own people in a more pronounced sense than it can be regarded as a 
means of doing justice to Cuba, and in the changed conditions that have 
so rapidly occurred and to meet new conditions that are extremely diffi- 
cult and embarrassing, if not dangerous to all concerned, it is safer, 
wiser, and more just to submit our present differences with Cuba to 
arbitration. It is still better that Congress should settle the question 
of title by law and make provision for taking proper care of the people 
and the interests of both Governments, whether we retain the title or 
concede it to Cuba. 

The Piatt amendment is not broad enough to cover the present situa- 
tion, and the treaty making power can not make it broader without the 
action of Congress. 

THE UNJUST ESTOPPEL THAT IS URGED AGAINST OUR PEOPLE. 

The objection is urged against our people who have settled in the 
Isle of Pines, and against those who have investments of money there 
in the purchase of lands, and in clearing lands, planting tields and 
orchards, and building comfortable houses and churches, schoolhouses, 
bridges, and roads, that they went there with full notice of the fact 
that the Government might turn the island over to Cuba, and that they 
took upon themselves the risk of expatriation and of all the conse- 
quences that might follow. 

Waiving for the sake of the argument and for the present the action 
of the Government in declaring to the people, officially, that the Isle 
of Pines belonged to the United States by cession from Spain, and in 
printing and sending out among the people very complete and attrac- 
tive official reports as to the healthfulness, beauty, fertility, and value 
of the lands for growing a variety of vegetables and fruits for the 
market, and as to quarries of marble there, and large springs of healing- 
waters to which Cubans had resorted for ages, and as to valuable fish- 
eries around the island, and forests of mahogany and other hard woods 
there, and as to the trade winds that blow continuously and produce so 
pure a condition of the atmosphere that no case of yellow fever ever 
occurred in the Isle of Pines, even when it was fatally epidemic in the 
nearby shores and parts of Cuba — passing by those representations of 
our Government as if they had been made to deceive the people and 
were so understood by them — these people were certainly misled by 
their confidence in the justice of the Government that it would main- 
tain the clear meaning of the Piatt amendment and the treaty of Paris. 

They understood the Piatt amendment as its author says he under- 
stood it in his letter to Mr. Lenney; and the Spanish treaty as the 
American commissioners who framed it say that they understood it; 
and the people were extremely careful to understand the attitude of 
their Government on the subject of the ownership of the Isle of Pines. 
They agreed with the Government and the treaty commissioners, and 
with the War Department and the Post-Office Department, and with 
the Piatt amendment, and with the constitution of Cuba, and with the 
treaty concluded with Cuba in May, 1903, all of which made it impos- 
sible that the Isle of Pines could belong to Cuba or could be subject 
to its government. 



196 ISLE OF PINES. 

AN ESTOPPEL, TO BE BINDING, AS AGAINST THE RIGHT TO ASSERT AND 
TO RELY UPON THE TRUTH, MUST BE MADE WITH FULL KNOWLEDGE 
OF ALL THE FACTS ON WHICH IT IS BASED. 

If the people had notice of any possible infirmity of the title of the 
United States it could onty have arisen from an unjust suspicion or 
conjecture that the President and the Senate would sell the Isle of Pines 
to Cuba or give it away to satisfy some political conditions that might 
give trouble to the Cuban Government. The people did not suspect 
that a "consideration," the amount and character of which is unknown, 
would be exhumed from some secret transaction about "grants of coal- 
ing and naval stations in the Island of Cuba heretofore made," or 
would ever be made the "consideration" of the relinquishment of the 
title of the United States to the Isle of Pines under the Piatt amend- 
ment or the Treat} 7 of Paris. The people had no such suspicion and 
could not entertain it without discredit to their Government. It is 
this secret consideration that is set up in this treaty for their undoing. 

The second article of the treaty reported to the Senate, without 
amendment, is as follows: 

The relinquishment, on the part of the United States of America, of claim of title 
to the. said Isle of Pines is in consideration of the grants of coaling and naval stations 
in the island of Cuba, heretofore made to the United States of America by the 
Republic of Cuba. 

The grants mentioned in "the foregoing leases" are, in fact, treaties 
that were never sent to the Senate for ratification, nor have they ever 
been proclaimed as treaties. Copies of these leases are herewith sub- 
mitted to the Senate in Appendix E to this report. It will be seen 
that the consideration expressed therein is the annual payment of 
$2,000 in gold by the United States to the Republic of Cuba "as long 
as the former shall occupy and use said areas of land by virtue of said 
agreement." This consideration is definite and includes the entire pur- 
chase price of the lease so far as the people could possibly have ascer- 
tained if they had ever been informed officially of the terms of the 
agreement. 

Now, a new and unexpected condition of alleged facts is disclosed 
in the treaty as the consideration of the sale of the Isle of Pines to 
Cuba, which is stated in article 2 of the treaty as "the relinquishment 
on the part of the United States of America of a claim of title to the 
said Isle of Pines." A perfect title is thus reduced to a "claim of 
title" to the Isle of Pines, and the people are to forfeit their homes 
and their actual liberties, that are native to Americans on American 
soil, upon and in discharge of a consideration which, if it ever existed, 
was kept secret until this treaty was sent to the Senate — a considera- 
tion that contradicts the very terms of the lease agreements that were 
signed by the President of Cuba and the President of the United States. 

This secret consideration is the only one that is stated in the treaty 
as the price of all the wrongs, disappointments, and hardships of more 
than 2,000 citizens of the United States, many of whom can never 
recover from the blow thus inflicted. In every possible sense this 
must be regarded as an act of extreme injustice that falls with crush- 
ing weight upon people who are practically helpless. 

The people of the United States are made to pay $2,000 per annum 
for the lease of two localities for naval stations in Cuba, u to enable the 
United States to maintain the independence of Cuba and to protect the 



ISLE OF PINES. 197 

people thereof," after having expended more than $100,000,000 for 
this purpose, and, when political conditions in Cuba seem to require 
a further sacrifice to save President Palma and his party from being 
turned out of office, the United States relinquishes all claim to the 
Isle of Pines, for some secret consideration, and throws into the grasp 
of this Moloch the rights, property, homes, churches, schoolhouses, 
and the peace and happiness of more than 2,000 honest Americans, 
after accusing them of the hardihood of exposing their families to 
ruin in making rash speculations in purchasing property that the 
Government might in some unforeseen event, or for some secret con- 
sideration, choose to turn over to the Government of Cuba. 

That they are justly alarmed at this harsh decree of the President 
and the Senate if this treaty is ratified is made clear by the state- 
ments of honest men in appendixes to this minority report. If Sena- 
tors will examine them they will find that no reproaches are deserved 
by these deceived and greatly injured people, and that such reproaches, 
added to these deceptions, are extremely unjust to them. No con- 
siderations of public policy in a just Government can excuse the Sen- 
ate from the duty of giving to these people the protection of the laws 
and the shelter of the flag of the United States. 

With these general observations the minority will proceed to dis- 
cuss the facts and principles of law that they consider as being fatal 
to the ratification of the treat} T now before the Senate. 

The treaty with Cuba, pending in the Senate, is as follows: 

[Confidential. Executive J, Fifty-eighth Congress, second session.] 

Message from the President of the United States, transmitting a treaty between the United 
States and Cuba, signed on 'March 2, 1904, for the adjustment of title to the ownership of 
the Isle of Pines. 

[March 3, 1904.— Read; treaty read the first time and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 
and, together with the message, ordered to be printed in confidence for the use of the Senate.] 

To the Senate: 

I transmit herewith, with a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate 
to its ratification, a treaty between the United States and Cuba, signed on March 2, 
1904, for the adjustment of title to the ownership of the Isle of Pines. 

I also inclose a report from the Secretary of State submitting the treaty for my 
consideration. 

Theodore Roosevelt. 

White House, March 3, 1904- 



The President: 

The treaty between the United States and Cuba, signed at Habana on July 2, 1903, 
for the adjustment of title to the ownership of the Isle of Pines, having lapsed by 
reason of the nonexchange of ratifications within the period limited by its Article IV, 
the undersigned, Secretary of State, under the full power conferred upon him by the 
President, has this day signed with the plenipotentiary of Cuba a new treaty for the 
same purpose. 

The Secretary of State has the honor to lay the same before the President with a 
view to its transmission to the Senate to receive the advice and consent of that body 
to its ratification. 

Respectfully submitted. 

John Hay. 

Department of State, Washington, March 2, 1904. 



198 ISLE OF PINES. 

The United States of America and the Republic of Cuba, being desirous to give 
full effect to the sixth Article of the Provision in regard to the relations to exist 
between the United States and Cuba, contained in the Act of the Congress of the 
United States of America, approved March second, nineteen hundred and one, which 
sixth Article aforesaid is included in the Appendix to the Constitution of the Republic 
of Cuba, promulgated on the 20th day of May, nineteen hundred and two and pro- 
vides that "The island of Pines shall be omitted from the boundaries of Cuba speci- 
fied in the Constitution, the title of ownership thereof being left to future adjustment 
by treaty;" have for that purpose appointed as their Plenipotentiaries to conclude a 
treaty to that end: 

The President of the United States of America, John Hay, Secretary of State of the 
United States of America; and 

The President of the Republic of Cuba, Gonzalo de Quesada, Envoy Extraordinary 
and Minister Plenipotentiary of Cuba to the United States of America; 

Who, after communicating to each other their full powers, found in good and due 
form, have agreed upon the following Articles: 

Article I. 

The United States of America relinquishes in favor of the Republic of Cuba all 
claim of title to the Island of Pines situate in the Caribbean Sea near the south- 
western part of the Island of Cuba, which has been or may be made in virtue of 
Articles I and II of the Treaty of Peace between the United States and Spain, signed 
at Paris on the tenth day of December eighteen hundred and ninety eight. 

Article II. 

This relinquishment, on the part of the, United States of America, of claim of title 
to the said Island of Pines, is in consideration of the grants of coaling and naval 
stations in the Island of Cuba heretofore made to the United States of America by 
the Republic of Cuba. 

Article III. 

Citizens of the United States of America who, at the time of the exchange of rati- 
fications of this treaty, shall be residing or holding property in the Island of Pines 
shall suffer no diminution of the rights and privileges which they have acquired prior 
to the date of exchange of ratifications of this treaty; they may remain there or may 
remove therefrom, retaining in either event all their rights of property, including the 
right to sell or dispose of such property or of its proceeds; and they shall also have 
the right to carry on their industry, commerce and professions being subject in respect 
thereof to such laws as are applicable to other foreigners. 

Article IV. 

The present treaty shall be ratified by each party in conformity with the respective 
Constitutions of the two countries, and the ratifications shall be exchanged in the 
City of Washington as soon as possible. 

In witness whereof, we, the respective Plenipotentiaries, have signed this treaty 
and hereunto affixed our seals. 

Done at Washington, in duplicate, in English and Spanish this second day of March 
one thousand nine hundred and four. 

[seal.] John Hay 

[seal.] Gonzalo de Quesada. 

HISTORICAL. 

1. It is not true, in point of fact, that the Isle of Pines was always a 
part of Cuba, either politically or geographically. It was discovered 
by Columbus in 1494, and was named La Evangelista by him, and occu- 
pied as a separate discovery- under the flag and in the name of the King 
of Spain. For a great many years it was not included in the Govern- 
ment of Cuba by any edict or act of the Spanish Government. » It was 
never so included as a separate political department of Cuba. As a 
part of the territory subject to the municipal government of the Depart- 



ISLE OF PINES. 199 

ment of Habana and to the administration of the judicial district of 
Bejucal, in 1880, it was called the Isle of Pines. 

In that period, and from that time to the present, the Isle of Pines 
has been known among all geographers, publicists, and nations by this 
distinct name, and none of them have ever merged this geographical 
name into that of Cuba. 

2. In the treaty of Paris, with Spain, which was ratified on the 11th 
day of April, 1899, geographical names were used to distinguish the 
larger islands that were ceded to the United States in absolute right, and 
Cuba, that was relinquished to the political control and disposal of the 
United States, was also designated by its geographical name and not 
by any reference to the limits of its political jurisdiction. 

3. Spain, in article 1 of the treat} 7 of Paris, renounced and abandoned 
her sovereignty over Cuba, to be occupied by the United States and to 
be governed under the international law for the protection of life and 
property, so long as such occupation shall last. In the enactment 
called the Piatt amendment the United States transferred her title to 
Cuba, on the performance of conditions subsequent, and retained the 
title and possession of the Isle of Pines. 

THE PROGRESS OF NEGOTIATION. 

If the treaty of Paris had closed with article 1, Spain would have 
remained sovereign over and would have retained title to the Isle of 
Pines, because its geographical name was distinct from that of Cuba, 
and it would not have been a casus omissus as to the right of occupa- 
tion or government by the United States that could have been reme- 
died by reference to any other part of the treaty. 

After disposing of this peculiar situation is this novel way, the nego- 
tiators proceeded to agree as to the wider and more important provi- 
sions as to the cession of other islands to the United States in full 
sovereignty. 

It was not convenient, even if it was practicable, to name all the 
islands under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies that were ceded, 
but it was the distinct purpose to exclude that sovereignty from the 
West Indies by ceding all that Spain owned in that group to the 
United States, and, to accomplish that object, article 11 provides that 
"Spain cedes to the United States the island of Porto Rico and other 
islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies." Nothing- 
was left to Spain in this cession, whether the island was named or not 
named, and nothing was ceded or relinquished to Cuba. 

The description had reference to Spanish sovereignty and was not 
confined to an} 7 geographical description except "the West Indies." 
This description could not have been more specific if all the islands so 
ceded had been named in the treaty. The Isle of Pines was then under 
the Spanish sovereignty and was never under the Cuban sovereignty. 
There was then no Cuban sovereignty. The Isle of Pines is not named 
in the treaty and must have been ceded to the United States in article 
11 of the treaty of Paris. Spain had no wish or purpose to enlarge 
the limits of Cuba. Her sentiments were hostile to Cuba and she 
made no demand or movement toward relinquishing the Isle of Pines, 
as Cuba was relinquished, so that it might eventually be included in 
the political boundaries of Cuba. It was never in Cuba's natural 
boundaries no more than the island of Santo Domingo was. 



200 ISLE OF PINES. 

THE FUTURE RIGHTS OR THE FATE OF CUBA WAS NOT PROVIDED FOR 
IN THE TREATY OF PARIS. 

No cession or relinquishment was made in the treaty of Paris to 
Cuba or to the people of Cuba. There was no body politic, or gov- 
ernment, or people of Cuba, under the law of nations, recognized in 
the treaty when it was made; nor was anything provided for, as to the 
beneficiaries under its provisions, in the island of Cuba. 

The grant of the right to occupy and govern Cuba was made to the 
United States, and Congress had the sole political right to dispose of 
the island. 

THE PLATT AMENDMENT DISPOSED OF CUBA AND THE ISLE OF PINES. 

Congress did dispose of the island, by the Piatt amendment, to the 
Republic of Cuba, after empowering the people to create and organize 
that government. Congress chose to interpret the treaty as having 
bestowed the Isle of Pines on the United States, in full sovereignty, 
under article 2 of the treaty of Paris, while Cuba claimed that only 
the right to occupy and govern the island under article 1 was conferred 
upon the United States. 

In either case the United States had the right to place its own inter- 
pretation on the treaty and did so by act of Congress in the Piatt 
amendment. It owed no debt or duty to Cuba and refused to cede the 
Isle of Pines to Cuba or to make any relinquishment of title or claim 
of title to Cuba. 

THE EFFECT OF THE PLATT AMENDMENT ON CUBA AND ITS GOVERN- 
MENT. 

If the claim of Cuba had been good and valid in law or morals, Con- 
gress had the right, as a condition of its legislative act conferring sov- 
ereignty upon or a protectorate over the people of Cuba, to limit the 
government so created to the geographical limits of the island of Cuba 
and thereby to annul any possible claim or right of the Republic of 
Cuba to the Isle of Pines. This is the legal effect of the Piatt amend- 
ment. Congress did impose upon Cuba in that act other limitations 
of power which subordinate her to the power of the United States of 
far greater importance to Cuba than the ownership of the Isle of Pines. 

The right of the United States to prohibit the Republic of Cuba 
from treating with other powers in hostility to the United States under 
even the greatest necessity for the preservation of its people; and from 
contracting debts by the issue of loans beyond certain sums and the 
right that was reserved to the United States, not granted to this Gov- 
ernment, to compel Cuba to provide for the public health of the island; 
and the right of the United States to use force to repress insurrection 
or the violent disturbance of the peace; and the right also reserved to 
establish naval and coaling stations on the island of Cuba, on making 
just compensation, are all incompatible with the full sovereignty 
of the Republic of Cuba. The people of (Juba have not the sover- 
eignty of that island, except a sub modo power of self-government, 
and the claim of title to the island proper is subject to the right of the 
United States to enter, for condition broken, and resume its govern- 
ment under the laws of nations in accordance with the treaty of Paris. 



ISLE OF PINES. 201 

This right has not been relinquished to Cuba, but is held as a pledge 
or hostage for the performance of the agreement, or compact, set forth 
in the Piatt amendment, which was accepted and ratified in and by the 
constitution of Cuba, and further confirmed by the treaty of May, 
1903, in the words of the Piatt amendment. 

CUBA ACCEPTED ALL THE CONDITIONS OF THE PLATT AMENDMENT. 

In her constitution Cuba also expressly excluded the Isle of Pines 
from her territorial limits, and if it was now ceded or relinquished to 
her, she would have to amend her constitution so as to include this 
new acquisition of territory within her constitutional limits, and 
thereby subject it to the control of the United States in the matters 
provided in the Piatt amendment. 

Whatever may have been the geographical or governmental union 
between the Isle of Pines and the island of Cuba, prior to the 
treaty of Paris, or if that treaty created any legal identity between 
those islands it was disregarded and set aside by act of Congress of 
the United States, in the Piatt amendment, and also by the constitu- 
tion of Cuba and the agreement of May 20, 1903, in the following 
terms : 

That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional bounda- 
ries of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty. 

THE FORCE OF THE COMPACT AS TO CUBA AND AS TO THE TREATY- 
MAKING POWER. 

t 

This compact, created by the legislative concurrence of the Con- 
gress of the United States and the ordinance of the constitutional con- 
vention of Cuba, established a legal status as to this subject that sub- 
stitutes and sets aside all consideration of any state of case that may 
have existed prior to the treat}- of Paris. 

If the question of title depended solely upon such antecedent facts, 
without reference to the enabling act contained in the Piatt amend- 
ment, the Senate would have no constitutional power to settle the 
question of title to the Isle of Pines by treaty with Cuba. 

The treat} r -making power of the United States does not extend to 
the acquisition of territory, or its cession, or to its relinquishment, 
except during a state of war declared or waged by act of Congress, 
and as a means of establishing or restoring a state of peace. There 
was no state of war between Cuba and the United States at or before 
the date of the treaty of Paris, and it required an act of Congress to 
authorize the treaty-making power to acquire the Island of Pines from 
Cuba or to cede it to Cuba. No such act has been passed, in terms, 
but the adjustment of the title to the island has been confided to the 
treaty-making power by the Piatt amendment. An arbitral agree- 
ment to adjust a title by treaty is not an agreement that provides for 
the sale of the title by either party to the other, but to so adjust the 
status created by the ownership of the islands, whether by one claim- 
ant or the other, that the respective governments and their citizens 
shall be relieved from the embarrassment of a disputed title claimed 
by either government. 

This gives to the President and the Senate, as the treaty-making 
power of the United States, the power to ascertain which of the two 



202 ISLE OF PINES. 

governments has the title to the Isle of Pines, and that being ascer- 
tained, to so adjust the same by treaty agreement with Cuba, as to all 
the substantial incidents of ownership, as shall be just and proper, 
and for the benefit of the people of both countries and their respective 
governments. 

As the power to enact laws for the government of the Isle of Pines 
is a necessary consequence of the ownership of the title, the treaty- 
making power of the United States must first consider the question of 
title before an}^ adjustment of the international relations between the 
governments can be made. 

The treaty before the Senate does not* settle the question of title, as 
a matter of law or fact, or as a predicate for further action, but 
agrees to relinquish all claim of title, on the part of the United States, 
for a consideration. 

"adjustment" does not imply a power to sell. 

If the United States has no title to the Isle of Pines it can not have 
a lawful claim of title under the Piatt amendment, which can be sur- 
rendered for a consideration, and that part of the treaty should be 
stricken from the text; or, if it has a title to the Isle of Pines, the 
President and the Senate can not sell the island to Cuba. That can 
only be done by act of Congress. 

Until the United States has disposed of its title of exclusive gov- 
ernmental occupancy and the power of government under the laws of 
nations, acquired under article 1 of the treaty of Paris, those rights, 
which are, in fact, sovereign rights, remain in the United States. 
The\f were never in anj r manner vested in the people or the Govern- 
ment of Cuba, as to the Isle of Pines, but were expressly reserved to 
the United States by two distinct acts of legislation, namely, the Piatt 
amendment and the constitution of Cuba, and also b} 7 the treaty of 
May 20, 1903. 

In this situation no doubt can be entertained that it is the duty of 
the treat}^ -making power to determine the question of legal title in 
favor of the United States, and such is the plain admission of the treaty 
now before the Senate, which proposes to sell the Isle of Pines to Cuba 
for a consideration. And this fact being clear and undisputed, the 
treaty -making power, acting under the legislative authority of Con- 
gress in the Piatt amendment, to which the President and the Senate 
are parties can only adjust the title of the United States to the preser- 
vation of the peace and welfare of the high contracting powers, and the 
rights, peace, and welfare of the people who inhabit the Isle of Pines. 

CONGRESS ALONE HAS POWER TO SELL THE ISLE OF PINES. 

If the authority conferred by the Piatt amendment upon the Presi- 
dent and the Senate does not include the power to make a sale of the 
Isle of Pines, such sale is ultra vires, and the treaty-making power 
should not attempt its exercise. Congress, alone, has the power to make 
such a sale, in a time when the laws of war have not displaced the civil 
authority. The treaty that is authorized by the Piatt amendment must 
comport with the law and can not disregard it or add to it, and the 
express duty is thereby imposed upon the President and the Senate, 
by the political power of the United States to follow and obey the 
statute. 



ISLE OF PINES 203 

in doing- this, the question of the title of the United States under 
article 1 of the treat} 7 of Paris, which is a right of occupancy and 
government, is not an open question. That question was settled by 
article 1 of the treaty of Paris, whether or not the Isle of Pines was a 
part of Cuba: and the Piatt amendment was not designed to change 
any treaty right of the United States. So that, if the adjustment of 
the title to the situation in the Isle of Pines, or in Cuba, or in the 
United States can be made more advantageous to all concerned by 
treaty, that right and duty is made incumbent and mandator} 7 by the 
Piatt amendment. 

If the sovereignty of the Isle of Pines is to be conferred upon Cuba, 
the treaty must leave the decision of that matter to the further action 
of Congress, and "adjust" the new relation to the new title, which 
Congress has not yet consented to vest in Cuba, to become effective 
with the consent of Congress. 

The "adjustment" provided for is equally requisite for all purposes 
concerning the government and the people, whether the title to the 
Isle of Pines remains in the United States as a title of occupancy, with 
the right of government under the laws of nations, in virtue of arti- 
cle 1 of the treaty, or whether it is a title in full sovereignty by the 
cession of Spain in article 2 of the treaty, or whether Congress con- 
sents to the sale of the Isle of Pines to Cuba. 

WHAT THIS TREATY REALLY MEANS. 

The treaty before the Senate makes a partial adjustment of these 
new conditions and provides for their execution by Cuba after provid- 
ing for the sale of the Isle of Pines to that Republic — not by act of 
Congress, but by the effect of this treaty, which is ultra vires. 

Whether such a sale and such an adjustment is satisfactory to Con- 
gress is a question that can only be settled by referring the treaty, if 
it is ratified, to Congress for its acceptance or rejection. The "adjust- 
ment of the title" can mean nothing except to declare whether the 
island belongs in full sovereign right to Cuba under Article I of the 
treaty. 

THE RIGHTS SECURED BY THE TREATY TO OUR PEOPLE. 

The rights of our citizens in the Isle of Pines are made special and 
exceptional in the adjustment of the title as provided in this treaty. 
Article III of the treaty is as follows: 

The citizens of the United States of America who, at the time of the exchange of 
ratifications of this treaty, shall be residing or holding property in the Island of Pines 
shall suffer no diminution of the rights and privileges which they have acquired prior 
to the date of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty; they may remain there or 
may remove therefrom, retaining in either event all their rights of property, includ- 
ing the right to sell or dispose of such property or of its proceeds; and they shall 
also have the right to carry on their industry, commerce, and professions, being sub- 
ject in respect thereof to such laws as are applicable to other foreigners. 

The rights here provided for are property rights, or personal rights 
and privileges which they may have acquired in the Isle of Pines before 
the sale is perfected. They are not "civil rights or political status." 

" Civil rights and political status" are not specified in favor of citi- 
zens of the United States in the treaty of Paris, or in the Piatt amend- 
ment, or in the treaty of May 20, 1903, nor are equivalent rights pro- 
vided for in either of them. Civil rights and political status are only 



204 ISLE OF PINES. 

secured to the native inhabitants of Cuba by article 9 of the treaty of 
Paris, as follows: 

"The civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants of the 
territories hereby ceded to the United States shall be determined by 
the Congress" is the provision of the last clause of article 9 of the 
treaty of Paris. No provision of the Piatt amendment or of the treaty 
of May 20, 1903, deprives the native inhabitants of the Isle of Pines 
of this right of protection by the Congress of the United States, if 
that island was ceded to the United States, and no treaty should be 
made without the full exercise b} T Congress of the right to fix "the 
civil rights and political status" of the citizens of the United States 
before it is relinquished or sold to Cuba. To omit such a provision 
would be a failure to perform a plain dut}^. 

A veiy important right is reserved to Spanish subjects in article 9 of 
the treat} 7 of Paris, which is not given to citizens of the United States 
who choose to remain in the Isle of Pines after the ratification of this 
treaty. 

If such "political status" was secured to the citizens of the United 
States in the Isle of Pines as is given to the subjects of Spain in the 
territory that was either ceded or relinquished to the United States 
the}^ would not be liable to the treatment given "to other foreigners," 
but would have the right, as citizens of a government that is suzerain 
over Cuba, and will be over the Isle of Pines when it has been relin- 
quished to Cuba, to remain in Cuba, even in time of war with the 
United States, or to go away as they may please without the forfeiture 
of life or property. 

As citizens of the United States these people would have the right, 
without giving offense to Cuba and while residing there under the 
protection of Cuba, to present petitions or remonstrances to the Gov- 
ernment of the United States in regard to the sanitation of cities, and 
asking for its intervention "for the protection of life, property, and 
individual liberty" under the Piatt amendment and the treaty of 
May 22, 1903 — none of which are guaranteed either to native inhabi- 
tants who may be children of citizens of the United States, or to such 
as are not citizens, under an}^ existing treatj^ with Cuba. 

These rights belong in justice and in the rights of self -protection to 
citizens of the United States residing in Cuba as fully as they belong 
to our citizens who reside in the United States, and for stronger 
reasons; but they are not secured by any law or treaty with Cuba, and 
are not secured by any provision of this treaty. 

This treaty should not pass the Senate without such a provision. 

If the treat}^ is to go beyond the point of settling the title and is to 
result in the purchase and sale of the Isle of Pines, or if the Senate 
finds that the sovereignty of the island is in Cuba, in either case it is 
manifest that the adjustment of the title requires a treaty agreement 
as to the political status and rights of our citizens in their new rela- 
tions, as is required in Article XI of the treaty of Paris, and also in 
the Piatt amendment. 

The adjustment proposed in the treaty before the Senate is far too 
defective to meet the ends of justice or the requirements of the pecu- 
liar relations of the Isle of Pines to Cuba and the United States. 



ISLE OF PINES. 205 

THE HIGH STRIDES OF OUR COMMANDING GENERAL IN CUBA, AS OVER- 
LORD OF THE ISLE OF PINES. 

The orders of the military governor of Cuba relating to the Isle of 
Pines, after that island was specially excepted by the Piatt amendment 
from the civil government and "de facto"' sovereignty established for 
Cuba, had no other effect on the question of title than to place the 
Isle of Pines under the same form of government that was discon- 
tinued in Cuba b}^ the recognition of its autonomy. 

The War Department could decide no question of title or right of 
occupancy, or any other right that was not authorized by the Piatt 
amendment, and especially it could not place the Isle of Pines under 
the "de facto " jurisdiction of Cuba, or include it within the govern- 
ing power of Cuba, whose constitution expressly excluded it from the 
Cuban territorial limits. 

Neither the Piatt amendment nor any other act of Congress gave to 
the President or the War Department the authority to continue the 
Isle of Pines under a military government, or under the jurisdiction 
of Cuba, and as a part of Cuba, after it was thus segregated terri- 
torially. 

The right to establish or continue military government in the Isle 
of Pines, after the Piatt amendment, could only exist in Congress upon 
the principle that applied to the government of Porto Rico, and the 
adjacent or neighboring islands, not specifically mentioned in the treaty 
of Paris, that were ceded to the United States in Article II of the treaty 
of Paris as the other unnamed ' ' islands now under Spanish sover- 
eignty in the West Indies." 

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE TO FULLY EXECUTE THE PLATT AMENDMENT. 

Congress has no need of power to protect our citizens in the ceded 
territories; but the} 7 need protection as to their civil and political rights 
in those territories that we may cede or relinquish to Cuba, and this, 
the most important feature of the "adjustment" by treaty that Con- 
gress has confided to the treaty making power of the United States, is 
not provided for in the treaty now before the Senate. 

The sale or relinquishment of the Isle of Pines to Cuba is not among 
the powers conferred upon the President and the Senate. Neither is 
the future government of the Isle of Pines, as to any rights of the 
inhabitants, whether civil or political, to be arranged or adjusted by 
treaty with Cuba, unless, it may be, the rights of Cubans residing in 
the Isle of Pines, if we retain the island, or the rights of citizens of 
the United States, if we sell that territory to Cuba. Yet, in either 
event, it should be stated in this treaty that all the provisions of our 
existing and future treaties with Cuba shall apply to the territory and 
the inhabitants of the Isle of Pines. 

If we retain the island Congress will be left entirely free to govern 
it, and for that reason the treaty to be concluded under the Piatt amend- 
ment, in so far as it relates to the establishment of powers of govern- 
ment in the Isle of Pines by the United States, should be subject to the 
approval of Congress. 

This may be a slow proceeding, but it will be a safer adjustment for 
that reason. 

S. Doc 205, 59-1 14 



206 ISLE OF PINES. 

The Senate should therefore reject the present treaty and leave the 
civil rights and political status of the people of the Isle of Pines to be 
adjusted by Congress on the determination of the question of title to 
the Isle of Pines by our Supreme Court, or by act of Congress, or by 
the arbitrament of the treaty-making power, if such is the meaning 
of the Piatt amendment, or by the sale of the island to Cuba, if that is 
the meaning of that law. 

It is clear that the President and the Senate have no constitutional 
authority to sell the Isle of Pines to Cuba under the existing conditions 
of peace between the two republics, and Congress has not conferred 
that power upon the treaty-making power of the United States. 

If this treaty is rejected, Congress should provide for the govern- 
ment of the Isle of Pines, or its sale, or relinquishment to Cuba on 
such terms and conditions as it shall determine, and in the event of 
such sale or relinquishment the future relations to Cuba of our citizens 
in the Isle of Pines can be determined, if need be, by treatj^. 

The fact that Cuba excluded the Isle of Pines, in conformity to the 
Piatt amendment, from her territorial limits is a fact that no one can dis- 
pute. From that time, if not before, the title to the islands was left in 
the United States or else in Spain. 

It could not go to Spain, for whatever territory she owned in the 
West Indies was conveyed to the United States by cession under 
article 1 of the treaty of Paris. If the Isle of Pines should never be 
ceded or relinquished to Cuba, it must remain as territory of the United 
States. 

After the adoption of her constitution, with the Isle of Pines 
excluded from her territory, Cuba could exercise no act of sovereignty 
over the Isle of Pines. She could make no laws to govern that island, 
nor could she commission any officer to exercise civil or military gov- 
ernment there. 

No sophistry, construction, or assertion can establish anything to the 
contraiy of these inevitable facts and conditions. General Wood, as 
commandant or military governor of Cuba, could make no order, de- 
cree, or agreement by which Cuba could possibly justify the exercise of 
any governmental power or function in the Isle of Pines to operate after 
it was excluded from the constitutional limits of Cuba. His action in 
that direction was impossible in law under any power or authority that 
he or the President possessed. It is only to be considered with refer- 
ence to the question of the bona fides of the American citizens who 
moved into American Territory. 

THE PEOPLE ARE RIGHT, HONEST, AND PRUDENT IN THEIR CONDUCT. 

In respect of the rightfulness and sincerity of the motives and con- 
duct of our people in purchasing lands and making homes in the Isle of 
Pines, the conduct of General Wood and the War Department and of 
the State Department in their official statements has much to do. It is 
painfull}^ true that the conduct and official statements of these high offi- 
cers in giving express sanction and consent to our people to make homes 
in the Isle of Pines will be repudiated if the treaty before the Senate is 
ratified in its present shape. 

An examination of the facts as to these assurances and encourage- 
ments, as they are presented from official sources in the report of the 



ISLE OF PINES. 207 

majority, shows conclusively that these controlling officials and Depart- 
ments of the Government did induce our people who were seeking 
homes to make investments and to build up business establishments 
there to proceed with their enterprises. 

The records of the War Department quoted in the report of the 
majority of the committee show the following state of facts as to the 
conduct of General Wood and his powers as military governor of 
Cuba, succeeding Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, who commanded the Seventh 
Army Corps, and General Brook in chief command. General Lee 
and General Brook, as well as General Wood, in whatever govern- 
ment they exercised in Cuba, employed the existing civil law and civil 
authority we found on the island for the purposes of civil government 
in subordination to the military power of the United States. 

This situation was never changed until the government of Cuba was 
turned over to the organized Cuban Republic bv General Wood, on 
the 20th of May, 1902. 

As early as May 11, 1898, while the war was pending and our troops 
were at a position surrounding Santiago de Cuba, the attention of the 
War Department was drawn to the Isle of Pines b}- the following letter 
from Colonel Bj^rne, chief surgeon at Governors Island, which is 
printed on page 133 of the report of the majority: 

Headquarters Department op the East, 

Office of the Chief Surgeon, 
Governors Island, N. Y., May 11, 1898. 
Sir: Should a large number of prisoners be captured in Cuba by our forces during 
the present war, the question as to the best disposition to be made of them will nec- 
essarily become an important one, and, to some extent, a hygienic one. 

I therefore venture to invite attention to the Isle of Pines, which I consider an 
ideal place in which to confine such Spaniards as may fall into our hands. This 
island is situated south of and near the western extremity of Cuba, is about the size 
of the State of Rhode Island, and has for some years been used by the Spaniards as 
a penal colony for political suspects. 

One hundred thousand prisoners could be turned loose on this island without pos- 
sibility of escape so long as its shores shall be properly patrolled. 

More than half of the island is high and salubrious. It would be much easier and 
cheaper to confine prisoners on this island than to take them to any point in the 
United States, and they might eke out the food supplied to them by the Government 
and obtain healthful exercise by fishing and farming. 

Very respectfully, C. C. Byrne, 

Colonel and Assistant Surgeon- General, 

U. S. Army, Chief Surgeon. _ 
The Surgeon-General, United States Army, 

Washington, D. C. 

On the 9th of November, 1898, a commission, consisting of Major 
Almy, Major Butler, and Captain Hart, was sent to the Isle of Pines 
by order of the United States Cuban Commission to examine the island 
and report upon its condition. Their report is printed on page 135 of 
the report of the majority, and is very clear, concise, and interesting, 
giving a report without color as to the resources of the island, and the 
then feeling of the people toward the United States as their deliverers. 

The Spanish soldiers had not yet been transported to Spain. A 
Spanish alcalde and a Spanish commander were found b} 7 these officers 
at Nueva Gerona. This appears to be the earliest military occupation 
of the Isle of Pines by the United States, and it was decisively a 
sovereign act of domination. 



208 ISLE OF PINES. 

It was followed early in February, 1899, by an inspection made by 
Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, in obedience to orders. He describes the 
country and the people in his report, and says: 

There are no industries on the island. The exports seem to be principally tobacco 
poles, some pine cross-ties, and charcoal. Sugar cane can not be successfully grown 
on account of the poverty of the land, and the experiments of tobacco growing have 
not proved successful either, only one-fourth as much tobacco being raised this 
year as was raised last year. The people are quiet and peaceable. Over such a large 
area the present small population can be self-sustaining. 

I found a company of 60 insurgents under a captain there; no one seemed to know 
for what purpose, and as they were living on the inhabitants most of them desired 
to have them removed. I do not see any necessity for a military garrison at this 
point, but in compliance with instructions will send a company over there on Sun- 
day next, that being the day the boat sails from Batabano Playa. 

On February 22, 1892, Capt. Fred S. Foltz made a further report on 
the Isle of Pines, giving- a detailed account of its productions, etc., in 
compliance with orders from Lieut. Col. Tasker H. Bliss, chief of cus- 
toms service, Habana. 

This report, printed in the report of the majority of the committee 
on pages 146 to 151 is very complete on all the resources and conditions 
in the Isle of Pines, which are varied and very attractive. It was cir- 
culated extensively by the War Department. 

On page 20 of the report of the majority is a statement that the 
Bureau of Insular Affairs gave to the press as to the resources of the 
Isle of Pines, and was sent out in reply to the many inquiries sent to 
the War Department about the title to the island and its productive 
power and healthf ulness. This statement shows thata very lively inter- 
est had been excited among the people in various parts of our coun- 
ty, who became anxious to occupy the island with homes and as a 
promising held for investment. 

It appears that on the 24th of February, 1899, the inquiries that 
have fairly flooded the War Department about the Isle of Pines began 
to come in, and quite a number of them are set out in the letter of the 
Secretary of War, printed in the report of the majority, pages 13 to 
115, and covering the period from Februarv, 1899, to February 27, 
1903. 

After the publication of "The statement given to the press from 
the Bureau of Insular Affairs" and after the "Assistant Secretary of 
War Meiklejohn had made public a military reconnoissance of the 
northern part of the Isle of Pines," printed on pages 20-24 of the 
report of the majority, it is not surprising «that the pressure became 
great among the people for acquiring lands there for homes as well 
as for speculation; neither is it in the least to their discredit. 

Dr. E. H. Gale, of Aurora, 111. , appears to be the earliest inquirer. 
He wrote Hon. A. J. Hopkins for information, and received from G. D. 
Meiklejohn, Assistant Secretary of War, a copy of the report of Capt. 
Frank S. Foltz, which is among the most attractive statements made 
by anyone about the Isle of Pines. 

The next applicant for information was William Sigismund, jr., of 
Fort Reno, Okla., March 19, 1899. To this Mr. Meiklejohn, as "Acting 
Secretary of War," replied, on the 29th of March, "that an extended 
description of the island was given to the press on the 15th instant." 

E. N. Meyers, of Williams University, of Chicago, applied on the 
27th of March, 1899, for "full instructions in regard to applying for 
public lands in the Isle of Pines." 



ISLE OF PINES. 209 

On April 3 Mr. Meiklejohn, Acting Secretary of War, replied that 
"no such land has as yet been opened to settlement." 

On the 10th of April. 1899, D. E. Pepier. of Fitzgerald, Ga., and 
on the 12th of April, 1899, P. W. Odom, of Elreno, Okla., applied 
for information as to the Isle of Pines. On the 17th of April copies 
of printed reports were sent them. 

On the 20th of April, 1899, the '-Chicago Colony, Isle of Pines, 
West Indies," sent the following paper to the War Department: 

Chicago Colony, Isle op Pines, West Indies, 

Chicago, 111., April SO, 1899. 
Dear Sir: Your kind favor of March 17 received, with inclosure report by Captain 
Foltz on the Isle of Pines to the War Department of recent date. The report is of 
great value to us and was read with considerable interest, and a resolution of thanks 
w T as passed by the association to honorable Assistant Secretary of War Meiklejohn 
for kindly furnishing us a copy of the report. Any official information in reference 
to the island you can give us will be highly appreciated. What interests us most 
now is, Will the island belong to the United States, and does the treaty of peace 
between the United States and Spain so imply? We are going on the principle that 
it does. 

I have the honor to be, yours, very truly, 

G. W. Reed, Vice-President. 
John C. Scofield, Esq., 

Chief Clerk, War Department, Washington, D. C. 

No answer appears to have been made to the letter of the Chicago 
Colony. 

Walter S. Chambers, of Philadelphia, wrote John Hay, Secretary of 
State, for information "as to its form of government, if it is owned by 
or subject to the control of the United States," etc. The reply to this 
letter was the mailing of a copy of the report upon the Isle of Pines, 
June 20, 1899. 

On August 8, 1899, John B. Altman, of St. Louis, Mo., asked the 
Secretary of State for information as to public lands, sajdng: 

As we are in a party of ten families, we want to settle in there on the mountainous 
part of the Isle of Pines, but we have not the information what and how to do to get 
land there. This is the reason I come with this request and wish to have advice. 
If we have to buy the land, we want to know the legal way to do it; otherwise we 
may lease land to settle in there. 

This was referred to the War Department and answered — 

That the disposition of public lands in the islands must await the action of Con- 
gress, and to inclose for your information a copy of an official report received by this 
Department on the resources of the island. 

George Bridges, of Carlisle, Pa., sent the following letter to the 
War Department: 

Carlisle, Pa., August 10, 1S99. 
Gentlemen: I am seeking information about the timber interests in the Isle of 
Pines and would be obliged for any information you would be able to give me, espe- 
cially what will be the governmental status of the island? Does it come in as Porto 
Rico, or under the same conditions as Cuba? And how can title be secured ? etc. I 
expect to go in November. 

For which information I will say thanks in advance. 

Yours, Geo. Bridges. 

I expect to operate sawmills. Am no land grabber. 

War Department, Washington, I). C. 

Mr. Bridges received the following reply: 

War Department, 
Washington, August 14, 1899. 
Sir: Referring to your communication of the 10th instant, soliciting information 
respecting the Isle of Pines, I am directed by the Assistant Secretary of War to 



210 ISLE OF PINES. 

advise you that the island was ceded by Spain to the United States and is therefore 
a part of our territory, although it is attached at present to the Division of Cuba for 
governmental purposes. 

A copy of an official report on the Isle of Pines is inclosed for your information, 
and you are advised that the disposition of public lands must await the action of 
Congress. 

Very respectfully, John J. Pershing, 

Assistant Adjutant- General. 
Mr. George Bridges, Carlisle, Pa. 

On June 26, 1899, A. S. Tubbs, of Tubbsville, Ohio, and on Sep- 
tember 6 West & Co., of Detroit, Mich., and on December 20, 1899, 
L. C. Leith, of Galveston, Tex., sent requests to different departments 
for like information, and copies of official reports were sent to them 
by orders of the Secretan 7 of War. 

This is all, substantially, that has been given out by the War Depart 
ment during the year 1899 to inquiring citizens as to the conditions of 
the Isle of Pines, in respect of government there, and as to the owner- 
ship of the Isle of Pines. These inquiries were anxious, honest, intel- 
ligent, and for the purpose of acquiring homes and establishing indus- 
tries in good faith and by men of means, to improve the island, who 
lived in various States of the Union. 

To all these inquiries official reports made to the Government were 
sent in reply. An examination of this ""Statement given to the press 
from the Bureau of Insular Affairs, 1 ' which is printed in the report of 
the majority on pages 20 to 21, shows that the Government was pre- 
senting an alluring picture to the people which was calculated, if not 
intended, to impress them with the conviction that the Isle of Pines 
was an inviting place of residence and offered strong inducements for 
its settlement by small farmers, fruit growers, fishermen, and lumber- 
men, and that it was almost without an equal as a health resort. It 
has been seldom, if at all, that our Government has prepared such 
invitations to our people for colonizing any place not a part of the 
continent (if it is not a part of North America). We have made no 
other such a propaganda. 

It is no injustice to our history to say that at that time, in 1899, it 
was a wise policy of the United States to declare, as was done by the 
War Department in the letter of John J. Pershing to Mr. George 
Bridges, above copied. 

At that time the Piatt amendment had not been enacted by Con- 
gress. It was enacted March 2, 1901. From the date of the letter to 
Bridges it was a year and nearly a half until the Piatt amendment was 
enacted, and that letter stood, in right and honor, and with full knowl- 
edge of its intent bj 7 every Executive Department of the Government 
and with the implicit confidence of the people and without question 
by any official, civil or military, as a pledge of the Government to our 
people at large. 

The question of the ownership of the Isle of Pines was referred by 
the War Department to the Department of Justice in April or May, 
1900, for decision, and no answer has been given, so far as the records 
of the War Department show. (See the letter of Acting Secretary of 
War, Mr. Meiklejohn, to Hon. R. K. Polk, on page 39 of the report 
of the majority.) 

No department or officer has ever disputed, or charged, or ques- 
tioned, officially, the ruling of the War Department on the 11th of 
August, 1899, in the letter to George Bridges, until it was repudiated 



ISLE OF PINES. 211 

on the 15th of December, 1903, by the Acting Secretary of State, 
Hon. A. A. Adee, in the following correspondence: 

December 16, 1903. 
Sir: I have the honor to inclose for your information copy of a letter from Mr. 
William Flindt and others and of the Department's reply relative to the status of the 
Isle of Pines. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

Alvey A. Adee, Acting Secretary. 
The Secretary of War. 

(Inclosures from William Flindt and others, December 8, 1903. To same, Decem- 
ber 15, 1903. ) 



December 19, 1903. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of your communi- 
cation of the 16th instant transmitting, for the information of this Department, copy 
of a letter from Mr. William Flindt and others and of the reply of your Department 
relative to the status of the Isle of Pines. 

Very respectfully, Elihu Root, 

Secretary of War. 
The Secretary of State. 



Spencer, Iowa, December 8, 1903. 

Dear Sir: We desire to call your attention to the following facts in relation to the 
possession of the Isle of Pines, viz: That by the treaty of Paris Spain relinquished all 
claim over and title to Cuba by article 1 of said treaty; article 2 of the same treaty 
reads as follows: 

"Spain concedes to the United States the Island of Porto Rico and other islands 
now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and the Island of Guam in the 
Marianas or Ladrones." 

On August 10, 1899, George Bridges wrote the War Department seeking i-nforma- 
tion respecting the Isle of Pines and asked : 

"Does it come in as Porto Rico or under the same conditions as Cuba? I expect to 
go there in November, and for this information I would thank you in advance." 
to which the the War Department replied on August 14, 1899, as follows: 

"Referring to your communication of August 10, instant, soliciting information 
respecting the Isle of Pines, I am directed by the Assistant Secretary of War to advise 
you that this island was ceded by Spain to the United States and is therefore a part 
of our territory, although it is attached at present to the Division of ( !uba for gov- 
ernmental purposes. A copy of the Isle of Pines is inclosed for your information 
and you are advised that the disposition of public lands must await the action of 
Congress. 

"Very respectfully, John J. Perching, 

' 'Assistant Adjutant- General. ' ' 

It was with the understanding and pursuant to such general information as con- 
tained in the foregoing letter that the undersigned, with others, invested in the Isle 
of Pines, some of whom are now residents of the island and are continuing to invest 
and make improvements upon the island. In all fairness to the American citizens 
living upon and interested in the Isle of Pines and in the interests of the Cubans of 
the isle, we are unalterably of the opinion that the Isle of Pines should remain Ameri- 
can territory. We believe also that such would be in the interests of the people of 
Cuba and Cuban Government. 

Hoping that this matter will receive candid and serious consideration, we are, 
Respectfully, yours, 

William Flindt. 
E. L. Dickey. 

D. C. GlLLISPIE. 

P. M. Ingald. 
A. F. Lamar. 
Homer Wise. 
H. R. Henderson. 
Franklin Thete. (?) 
^ Geo. Phelps. 

Hon. John Hay, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 



212 ISLE OF PINES. 

Department of State, 
Washington, December 15, 1903. 
Gentlemen: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 8th instant, in 
which you quote a letter said to have been written to Mr. George Bridges on August 
14, 1899, by the Assistant Adjutant-General of the United States Army, stating that 
the Isle of Pines was United States territory, and add that you are of opinion that it 
should remain so. 

In reply I have to say that the statements represented to have been made by the 
Assistant Adjutant-General of the War Department were ex parte, and were made 
before the Congress of the United States, by the so-called Piatt amendment to the 
war appropriation act of March 2, 1901, took the question of the title to the Isle of 
Pines out of the control of the military authorities and relegated to the treaty-making 
power the adjustment of the title to the Isle of Pines. 

The sixth article of the Piatt amendment reads as follows: 

"That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional bound- 
aries of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty." 
I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant, 

Alvey A. Adee, Acting Secretary. 
William Flindt, Esq., and others, Spencer, Iowa. 

Mr. Secretary Root thanks Mr. Adee for the information as to the 
action of the State Department, but does not state his approval. 

Mr. Adee holds that u the statements represented to have been made 
by the Assistant Adjutant-General were ex parte. " Does he mean that 
they were unauthorized by the War Department? 

It appears from the record of the War Department, printed on 
pages 31 to 36 of the report of the majority, that from Januaiy 13 to 
February 16, 1900, the Secretary of War was absent from the Depart- 
ment, or that he had turned over the questions relating to the Isle of 
Pines .to Mr. Meiklejohn, Assistant Secretary. No order issued by 
the Secretary is given in that record, but on the 31st of January, 1900, 
the following letter addressed to Hon. Elihu Root, Secretary of War, 
was not answered, and it is a safe conclusion that it did not reach him: 

The Cuban League, 
New York (My, January 31, 1900. 
Dear Sir: Is the Isle of Pines United States, as Porto Eico is United States, or is 
it Cuba? 

Cordially yours, William O. McDowell. 

Hon. Elihu Root, 

Secretary of War. 

On the 13th and 15th of Januaiy, 1900, G. D. Meiklejohn, Assistant 
Secretary of War, reaffirmed the statement of Assistant Adjutant- 
General John J. Pershing, as to the status of the Isle of Pines, made 
to Bridges on the 11th of August, 1899, as follows: 

War Department, 
Office of the Assistant Secretary, 

Washington, D. C, January 13, 1900. 

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt, by reference from the honorable 
the Secretary of State, of your letter of the 20th ultimo asking if the islands south of 
Cuba, formerly belonging to Spain, now belong to the United States or to Cuba; 
whether you have a right to hunt along the coasts thereof in a boat too small to enter 
at the custom-house, carrying probably 100 pounds of ammunition, two or three 
guns, and two months' provisions for two men, and requesting publications descrip- 
tive of said islands. 

In reply, you are advised that the Isle of Pines was ceded by Spain to the United 
States, and therefore is a part of our territory, although it is attached at present to 
the Division of Cuba for governmental purposes. 

In reply to your inquiry relative to guns and ammunition, your attention is invited 
to the inclosed copy of an order of the military governor of Cuba, dated September 



ISLE 'OF PINES. 213 

18, 1899, modifying the instructions dated April 27, 1899. You are further informed 
that the Department has no publications descriptive of these islands. 
Verv respectfully, 

G. D. Meiklejohn, 
Assistant Secretary of War. 
Mr. L. C. Leith, 

NW. Comer Market and Eighteenth Streets, Galveston, Tex. 

On the 28th of April, 1900, the Assistant Secretary of War, Mr. 
Meiklejohn. sent the following' letter to the Attorney-General: 

"War Department, 
Office of the Assistant Secretary, 

Washington, D. C, April 28, 1900. 
Sir: Numerous inquiries having been made to this Department regarding the pres- 
ent status of the Isle of Pines, I have the honor to request an expression of your views 
upon the question of the present ownership thereof. 

In connection therewith I beg to inclose a number of letters from Mr. E. C. Har- 
rington, together with copies of the replies thereto. 

Very respectfully, C. D. Meiklejohn, 

Assistant Secretary of War. 
The Attorney-General. 

In a memorandum printed on page 33 of the report of the majority 
the disposition of this request is shown as follows: 

On the 6th of May last Mr. Harrington acknowledged thereceiptof Colonel Edwards's 
letter and requested him to say whether, pending the decision of the Department of 
Justice, he would be molested' in continuing his improvements on his homestead on 
the Isle of Pines. 

It appears that the matter was submitted by private letter to the Attorney-General, 
and that it was afterwards verbally withdrawn "because the matter was for diplo- 
matic consideration rather than a question for the decision of the Department." 
This is the language of an unsigned memorandum with Mr. Harrington's letter of 
May 6. 

With all these evidences of careful consideration of this burning 
question by the War Department and the Attorney-General and the 
military officers in command in Cuba, the Third Assistant Secretary of 
State, if he was at all informed of the actual situation, ventures to wave 
the War Department to the real, and to scout the Assistant Adjutant- 
General as representing that Department, and pronounces these official 
statements to the people as being ex parte; and, also, because they were 
made before the Congress of the United States, by the so-called Piatt 
amendment to the war appropriation act of March 2, 1901, took the 
question to the title of the Isle of Pines out of the control of the military 
authorities and relegated to the treaty-making power the adjustment of 
the title to the Me of Pines. His statement evidently proves too much. 

He quotes the sixth article of the Piatt amendment, as follows: 

That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries 
of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty. 

This programme of Mr. Adee for escape from the honorable obliga- 
tions of the Government to innocent citizens, who resorted to its high- 
est official authority for the decision of their rights under the law 
before they would seek homes and make investments in the Isle of 
Pines, is the only one that has been offered by the Government as an 
excuse for violating its faith, plighted to the people. It is promul- 
gated by the Third Assistant Secretary of State, acting lawfully as 
Secretary, who, it is true, complains that the War Department gave 
out its first decisions through an assistant adjutant-general. But, as 
to the persons or their rank who are authorized to do such things, 



214 ISLE OF PINES. 

there is no possible doubt of their authority to compromit the Govern- 
ment. And, as between these officials, the people have the right to 
say, at least, that honors are easy. They had equal power to pledge 
the Government, because they were acting as the heads of two of the 
Departments — the War Department, which had' jurisdiction of the 
subject, and the State Department, which had none. 

Secretaiy Adee has not released the United States from its duties 
and obligations by his special plea that the decisions of the War 
Department were ex parte. If they were, is not his decision likewise 
ex parte ? And, as was said by Clarence R. Edwards, colonel, U. S. 
Army, Chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs, in a letter to Hon. O. H. 
Piatt, December 5, 1903, in commenting on the Pershing decision: 

The answer that has always been made to such inquiries (sic, the inquiry of George 
Bridges) since I have been in office, and by direction of the Secretary of War, has 
been to say that it was a question that must await the determination of the legislative 
branch ; that no Executive Department was authorized to decide the same. However, 
[he adds] in view of the pending treaty, why isn't Assistant Secretary Meiklejohri's decision 
proper? 

In this plexus of conflicting opinions among high Government 
officials quite enough appears from their statements to decide the fate 
of this treaty and to compel its rejection if we do not intend to give the 
Isle of Pines to Cuba, with the lives and fortunes of our people, or if 
we intend to abandon them to the mercies of a hostile people and Gov- 
ernment without any other security for their future than Cuba is bound 
by the laws of nations to extend to all other foreigners. If we do not 
feel compelled to sacrifice our people to some altruistic sentiment 
toward Cuba or to some occult agreement that none of our people know 
anything about, relating to the purchase of a naval station at Guan- 
tanamo, this treaty will be amended in the Senate, at least to make spe- 
cific and as a part of it the guaranties that Cuba offers to make, but 
not as " demandable obligations of the Republic." (See these proposed 
concessions to our people on pages 171-175 of the report of the majority 
of the committee.) 

THE UNTENABLE GROUNDS ON WHICH THIS TREATY IS RESTED BY ITS 

SUPPORTERS. 

To return to the exact points on which the pending treat} T hinges, 
there are found to be several propositions, either of which is fatal to 
its ratification, as a surrender of title to the Isle of Pines by the United 
States to Cuba. 

The first proposition is, that the island was in the actual military pos- 
session of the United States up to the date of the enactment of the 
Piatt amendment, and all Cubans who held civil office there before and 
after that date were appointed or elected under the authority and 
orders of the military officers of the United States thereunto author- 
ized by the Government. 

The "memorandum" printed on pages 33 and 31 of the report of 
the majority of what is contained in the records of the War Depart- 
ment sets forth the following facts: 

On the 6th of May last Mr. Harrington acknowledged the receipt of Colonel 
Edwards's letter and requested him to say whether, pending the decision of the 
Department of Justice, he would be molested in continuing hie improvements on his 
homestead on the Isle of Pines. 



ISLE OF PINES. 215 

It appears that the matter was submitted by private letter to the Attorney-General, 
and that it was afterwards verbally withdrawn "because the matter was for diplo- 
matic consideration rather than a question for the decision of his Department." This 
is the language of an unsigned memorandum with Mr. Harrington's letter of May 6. 

Among the orders issued by our military commanders in Cuba is the following 
order, which relates directly to the Isle of Pines: 

No. 131.] Headquarters Division of Cuba, 

Habana, August 4, 1899. 
The military governor of Cuba directs me to announce the following appointments: 
To be mayor of the Isle of Pines, Juan Manuel Sanches. 
To be first assistant mayor of the Isle of Pines, Francisco Jesus Junco. 
[seal.] Adna R. Chaffee, 

Brigadier- General, Chief of Staff. 

On August 10, 1900, Mr. Jose M. Tarafa, who signs himself as ' ' Late colonel of the 
Cuban army," wrote to the Secretary of War saying that he " owned between 30,000 
and 40,000 acres of land in the Isle of Pines, and that he had found to his surprise 
that the inhabitants of the island unanimously believed that they were directly under 
the sovereignty of the United States and not under a protectorate, as was the island 
of Cuba, and that the same opinion seemed to be rather general in Habana. " Asa 
large landowner in the Isle of Pines he desired to know under what flag the island 
was to remain. 

This letter was answered by Colonel Edwards, by direction of the Secretary of 
War, on the 17th of August, "Colonel Edwards states "that the War Department at 
present considers the Isle of Pines subject to the jurisdiction of the military forces 
of the United States now in charge of civil affairs in the island of Cuba," and that 
the question asked by Mr. Tarafa,' "being a political question, it is not to be decided 
by this Department." 

In the order issued by General Chaffee, as military governor of Cuba, at Habana, 
April 18, 1900, in regard to the municipal elections of June last, the municipalities 
of the island are not enumerated; but, in view of the order previously issued, 
appointing officers for the municipality of the Isle of Pines, it is altogether probable 
that the municipalitv was included, and that it held an election under the order. 

This proves that the first mayor of the Isle of Pines was appointed 
by the United States military governor of Cuba on August 4, 1899, 
and in the order of April 18, 1900, in regard to the municipal elec- 
tions of June last (1899), the municipalities of the Isle of Pines are 
not enumerated. 

So that the mayor and first assistant mayor of the Isle of Pines and 
their successors held their offices under the United States, and not 
under the people of Cuba or the Republic of Cuba. 

The second proposition is, that this situation was not changed by the 
Piatt amendment, nor was any change made by military order before 
the date of that amendment, so that this status of government in the 
island continued at least until the Piatt amendment was enacted, and 
was not changed prior thereto. 

It was not until May 20, 1902, a year and eighty days after the 
enactment of the Piatt amendment, that the government of Cuba was 
transferred "to the President and Congress elected by the people 
thereof." During that period no change in the government of the Isle 
of Pines was made by any military order of the United States or 
otherwise. 

No such change could have been lawfully made by any civil or mili- 
tary governor of Cuba appointed by the United States that would 
confer upon any government or official of Cuba any authority to insti- 
tute, declare, amend, or abolish any government in the Isle of Pines, 
because the Piatt amendment and the constitution of Cuba exclude the 
Isle of Pines from the territorial limits of Cuba, and neither of them 
made any provision for the government of the island. 



216 ISLE OF PINES. 

Of necessity, and also in virtue of the treat} 7 of Paris, the govern 
ment of the Isle of Pines, which these provisions of the Piatt amend- 
ment and the constitution exclude from Cuba, inured to the United 
States when the transfer of the government of that island was made to 
the President and the Congress elected by the people thereof. 

There was no interregnum or lapse of government in the Isle of 
Pines between the 2d day of March, 1901, and the 20th day of May, 1902. 
The United States continued in the full and peaceful occupancy of that 
island, and our people moved into and settled their homes there in 
rapidly increasing numbers from 1899 to the present time without 
restraint or prohibition or a note of warning from the War Depart- 
ment or any Executive Department of the Government. 

The first and only statement made by Mr. Root, Secretary of War, 
on the subject of the status of the government of the Isle of Pines, 
after the transfer of the government of Cuba by the United States 
under the Piatt amendment, is set forth in the letter of Clarence R. 
Edwards, above quoted, to Hon. O. H. Piatt, the author of that amend- 
ment, dated December 5, 1903, which is again quoted, as follows: 

The answer that has always been made to such inquiries since 1 have been in office, 
and by direction of the Secretary of War, Root, has been to say that it was a ques- 
tion that must await the determination of the legislative branch; that no Executive 
Department was authorized to decide the same. 

The last clause in that statement is clear ly the law, and it condemns 
the orders given by Secretary Root in his instructions, afterward given 
to General Wood, copied on page 93 of the report of the majorit} T of 
the committee, as follows: 

[Telegram. J 

War Department, May 16, 1902. 
Wood, Habana: 

Referring to your dispatches of May 10 and May 14, relating to the Isle of Pines, 
you are instructed' to insert in the declaration of transfer marked "D," inclosed in 
my letter of May 3, as amended by my letter of May 10, immediately before the con- 
cluding clause thereof the following paragraph, viz: 

" It is understood by the United States that the present government of the Isle of 
Pines will continue as a de facto government, pending the settlement of the title of 
said island by treaty pursuant to the Cuban constitution and the act of Congress of 
the United States approved March 2, 1901." 

Root, Secretary of War. 

That instruction was an unfortunate decision, which is responsible 
as well for a false attitude of the Government on this subject as for 
much of the disappointment and injury our people have sustained in 
their honest efforts to colonize the Isle of Pines for the attractive and 
just purpose of making homes there, under the protection of our flag 
and the laws and Government of the United States. 

GENERAL WOOD'S INSTRUCTIONS. 

The order given by the War Department to General Wood, above 
copied, has two fatal defects. 

1. It was issued by a department, it being a "question that must 
await the determination of the legislative branch; that no Executive 
Department was authorized to decide. " 

In this case the legislative branch had excluded the Isle of Pines 
from the territorial limits of Cuba without providing that the Gov- 



ISLE OF PINES. 217 

eminent of Cuba should thereafter have or exercise any power what- 
ever over the island. There is no other way to interpret this act of 
Congress, except as creating- in the United States the de jure right of 
government, which, even if it was only temporary, was paramount to 
all other government in the Isle of Pines. No Department of the Gov- 
ernment or military commander could in the least disparage such a 
government by any decision or order he could make, or avoid the legal 
effect of the' Piatt amendment. 

Yet this was done in the instructions of the War Department to 
General Wood, above copied. "It was understood by the United 
States,'' says the Secretary of War, "that the present government of the 
Isle of Pines will continue as a de facto government, pending the set- 
tlement of the title of said island by treaty powers." 

Interpreted by the facts and the law the then "present Govern- 
ment" of the Isle of Pines when that alleged understanding was 
reached was the Government of the United States, through military 
officers in command, who were empowered to employ, and did employ 
and use, the then existing civil regime under Spanish laws in Cuba, 
and the existing official entourage, recognized by the Cubans as con- 
venient facilities of local government, for civil and municipal pur- 
poses. 

The powers so used and the officials of Cuba so emplo\ T ed were 
merery ancillary to the right and power of government by the United 
States and were subject to be changed at will by the military govern- 
ment that the United States exercised throughout Cuba. 

This was in fact, and in law, " the present government of the Isle of 
Pines" named and identified in the instructions of the Secretary of 
War to General Wood, in his instructions of May 16, 1902, which was 
many days prior to the transfer of the government of Cuba to the 
President and Congress elected by the people thereof, with the Isle of 
Pines excluded therefrom by the Piatt amendment. But this matter 
seems to have been misunderstood by General Wood, and his mistake 
has been very injurious to public and private interests and rights. 

On the 20th of February, 1903, after this disputation had become a 
ver} T serious matter to all concerned, Mr. Root, Secretary of War, in 
his report to the President, says (pp. 176-177 of the report of the 
majority): 

The nature of the de facto government under which the Isle of Pines was thus left, 
pending the determination of the title thereof by treaty, is shown upon the following 
indorsement upon a copy of the said (Senate) resolution by the late military gov- 
ernor of Cuba. 

In that indorsement General Wood sa} f s: 

The Isle of Pines as it had existed under the military government was transferred 
as a de facto government to the Cuban Republic, pending the final settlement of the 
status of the island by treaty between the United States and Cuba. * * * As I 
understand it, the government of the Isle of Pines is rested in the Republic of Cuba, pend- 
ing such final action as may be taken by the United Stales and Cuba looking to the ulti- 
mate disposition of the island. 

This post factum opinion of General Wood has no official weight or 
effect. As authority upon the questions presented in the pending 
treaty it is of little worth. It is not accepted by Secretary Root as 
fixing the governmental status of the Isle of Pines, but only as describ- 
ing " the nature of the de facto government under which the Isle of 
Pines was left, pending the determination of the title thereof by treaty. '" 



218 ISLE OF PINES. 

Mr. Secretary Root has not said that "the nature" of that alleged de 
facto government was either valid or that it is possible under the Piatt 
amendment. The Senate must decide these questions in acting on the 
treaty now before it. 

WHAT IS A DE FACTO GOVERNMENT AND WHAT AMERICAN CAN ESTAB- 
LISH IT IN TERRITORY BELONGING TO THE UNITED STATES? 

A government de facto can onty take the place of a government de 
jure which it has displaced temporarily, and it can continue no longer 
than the government de jure is so displaced. 

Government de jure by the United States existed in the Isle of Pines 
in full force and effect from the date of ratification of the treaty of 
Paris and also under its express provisions. 

The Piatt amendment and the constitution of Cuba segregated the 
Isle of Pines from the jurisdiction and territorial limits of Cuba, and 
the}^ fell into the sovereign power of the United States by operation 
of law for its right of government — its right de jure — and not as a de 
facto government. 

In order to get it back into the power of Cuba as a de facto govern- 
ment, General Wood, under the orders of the Secretary of War, 
undertook to assume both the legislative and treaty-making powers of 
the Government of the United States and changed the Piatt amend- 
ment, hy agreement with Cuba, so as to relegate Pine Island to the 
Government of the Republic of Cuba, " pending such final action as 
may be taken by the United States and Cuba looking to the ultimate 
disposition of the island." 

The island is taken by this unauthorized and illegal act of the War 
Department, or of General Wood, and is placed under the de facto 
government of the Republic of Cuba without any lawful authority. 

The government de jure is held in suspense by this agreement, and 
must hang in nubibus for an indefinite period of time. If such an 
agreement is binding in law, Cuba has all the ownership and power 
she wants in the Isle of Pines until she agrees to some treaty with the 
United States for further terms as to its government. If the Republic 
of Cuba refuses to consent to such a treaty as the Government of the 
United States is willing to conclude, still the agreement of the War 
Department, made through General Wood, stands to protect Cuba as 
the government de facto, which is as powerful as a government de jure, 
while it lawfully continues to exist; and thereb} 7 the Isle of Pines is 
virtually surrendered to Cuba by the act of the War Department in 
violation of the law of Congress, called the Piatt amendment. 

If this situation is accepted by the United States, the recently pub- 
lished statement by the Secretary of State, Mr. Root, is true, that 
the Isle of Pines always belonged to Cuba; and if the pending treaty 
is not ratified it can only be obtained by the United States peacefully 
by a treaty with Cuba ceding the island to us. All this strange transi- 
tion which defies the Piatt amendment and the constitution of Cuba 
and every act of government control by the United States, of which 
there are many, depends upon the power of the Secretary of War, 
when he found the Government of the United States in its own right 
in the possession of the Isle of Pines, to destroy that government and 
substitute in its place government de facto and conducted by a foreign 
state. 



ISLE OF PINES. 219 

No war has ever existed between Cuba and the United States to give 
the least color to such a military act as an act of war, and, as an act 
of civil government, by the Secretary of War, it is legally impossible; 
and, as a precedent, it is in the highest degree dangerous and revolu- 
tionary. 

It is thus seen that the rights of the United States and its citizens 
are violated by the grounds assumed by the majority of the committee, 
that the Isle of Pines belongs to Cuba, and is, at present, lawfully sub- 
ject to the government of that Republic, either de jure or as a govern- 
ment de facto. 

THE AFTERTHOUGHT OF A TREATY WITH CUBA TO COVER A PLAIN 
VIOLATION OF LAW. 

The treaty itself admits the ownership and rightful government to 
be in the United States in its sale of the Isle of Pines to Cuba for a 
consideration expressed therein. The evidence is entirely convincing 
to show that such a consideration, growing out of a purchase of a naval 
station in Cuba, for which we had not fully paid, is an afterthought, 
Nothing is due to Cuba on that account. 

We are paying Cuba for the use of the station at Guantanamo 
$2,000 a year, after having paid more than $100,000,000 for the 
independence of Cuba. 

Such a demand, if made for any other purpose except as a pretext 
for reclaiming the Isle of Pines, would do no credit to Cuba. 

While all these questions, facts, and situations were under the con- 
stant attention of the Government from 1898 to 1905, no final opinion 
or order of any department was made upon them until General Wood's 
solution of the situation was given, as above shown, on February 20, 
1903. 

THE CONSEQUENCES TO THE PEOPLE. 

In this period of about seven years, since the flattering reports of 
the Bureau of Insular Affairs about the Isle of Pines were published 
and circulated by the Government, a large population has gathered 
there from all parts of the United States of worthy and industrious 
people, who have expended large sums of money in buying lands and 
in opening farms and orchards and in various forms of useful industry. 

The story of their anxious inquiry as to their rights, as Americans, 
to settle and establish homes on the Isle of Pines without abandoning 
their country, its protection, and its laws, and without placing them- 
selves in reach of the spirit and forms of Spanish government, with all 
its distressing conditions, as it had existed and still exists in Cuba, is 
stated in the various papers printed in the report of the majority of 
the committee. 

The minority of the committee append to their report other state- 
ments that have been handed to them. Of their truth and sincerity 
there is no doubt. Some of them, made by persons who have since 
died, are necessarily stated in language that is so grossly obscene that 
they are left blank for the sake of the decency of the record. This is 
especially true of words uttered in the schools by Cuban teachers and 
acts performed by them, in the presence of girls, that do not admit of 
quotation. 



220 ISLE OF PINES. 

In this the tenderest point of the public service the conduct of those 
teachers forbid the education of children and provoke a degree of 
resentment that will end in slaughter if our people in the Isle of Pines 
are relegated to Cuban government in that island. 

It was only a penal colony, except a certain locality that was a health 
resort, while Cuban-Spanish government pervaded there, and it is lia- 
ble to be again used for that purpose by the Republic of Cuba if this 
treaty is not so amended as to prevent so horrible an infliction among 
the enlightened and worthy people who own two-thirds of the island. 

The titles to land do not come from Cuba or Cuban laws. The state- 
ment is made on credible authority that the Crown of Spain at an 
earl} 7 period granted the entire island to a distinguished subject — a 
general — as a reward for public service, reserving only a few town 
lots, and that all titles to land in the Isle of Pines come from that 
grant and not through any government in Cuba. 

The committee has not had access to the Spanish archives to verify 
this statement, but it is true that with the exception stated there are no 
Crown lands in the Isle of Pines, and all titles are derived through the 
grant stated. This probably accounts for the fact that Spain never 
annexed the Isle of Pines to Cuba, and for the long delay that occurred 
in placing the people there under the municipal government of the 
province of Habana, and the judicial government under the province 
of Bejucal. 

This separation of the police control of the island between these two 
Spanish provinces shows conclusively that the Isle of Pines was never 
an integral part or a province of Cuba, but only a municipal appendage 
of one province and a judicial appendage of another. 

If the United States, as sovereign, should sell or cede the title to the 
Isle of Pines to Cuba, it will thereby create an ownership in the Repub- 
lic of Cuba that never existed in Cuba as a Spanish department, and 
a title that is derived solely from the political sovereignty of the 
United States. 

However plausible ma} 7 be the excuses made in the report of the 
majority for this altruism at the expense of the rights of our own 
people, they are not just, nor are they defensible. 

To show the state of public opinion in the Isle of Pines and in the 
United States on the merits of this question and on the law and facts 
of the case, the minority of the committee append to their report 
extracts from two articles that are in the Isle of Pines Appeal, a news- 
paper published in the island, of date the 25th of December, 1905. 

These statements are set out in Appendix A, which also contains a 
very important statement of Daniel P. Thompson, to which attention 
is called. 

Appendix B contains the statements of gentlemen of unquestioned 
veracity and of high character, who present the truth of the situation 
in the Isle of Pines and discuss their rights and those of the people 
there with marked ability and candor. 

These papers, if they stood alone, would sustain these people in 
all their demands upon the justice and friendly consideration of the 
Government. 

We are not considering the alleged rights and speculative schemes of 
men who can be disregarded or easily turned aside from unworthy 
adventures, but men of intelligence, probity, and just purposes, who 



ISLE OF PINES. 221 

are honestly persistent in their rightful demands as citizens of the 
United States. 

Appendix C contains truthful statements of only a few of the 
instances of the brutal treatment of our people by the government de 
facto set up in the Isle of Pines by militar} 7 orders to replace the 
rightful Government of the United States. These recitals are abhor- 
rent to our civilization. They will be repeated and made worse when 
our citizens there are placed in the category of "other foreigners," as 
is proposed in this treat} T . 

It also presents the letter of Hon. O. H. Piatt to I. C. Lenney, esq., 
of November 5, 1905, in which he puts to rest all cavil as to the title 
to the Isle of Pines and the effect of the Piatt amendment, and says 
"I feel that it is of the utmost importance that it should be ours." 

In this appendix the defiant answer of the Secretary of State is 
given to Charles Raynard, president of the American Club of the Isle 
of Pines, dated "Department of State, Washington, November 27, 
1905," in which he virtually abandons the island to Cuba, in any and 
every event, without respect to any course the Government of the 
United States may choose to adopt. 

Appendix D presents very important statements of persons who are 
personally cognizant of the conditions on the Isle of Pines and of the 
work that has been done there by our people and b} T the Government 
of the United States. 

In all the appendices to the report of the minority there are pro- 
tests, memorials, supplications to our Government for the protection 
of their property rights, their persons, their liberties, their homes, 
their churches, their cemeteries, and their schools, against the wrongs 
inflicted upon them by Cubans who are placed in authorit}' over them 
under the de facto government established by the military orders of 
the War Department. 

In the opinion of the minority, these petitioners are asserting their 
rights in respectful terms and are entitled to a full and patient hear- 
ing by the Senate. If they are contemptuously turned away without 
the security and protection they honestly deserve, the Senate will fail 
in its duty to them and to the country. 

Two papers are hereto appended, marked "Appendix E," that should 
be considered together. The} 7 are the agreements relating to naval 
stations in Cuba, and "The other side of the Isle of Pines question; a 
voice from the people," signed by A. A. Cole, of Chicago. 

The facts stated by Mr. Cole and his arguments show in a powerful 
light our title to the Isle of Pines and the reasons for holding to it. 
They refute the policy of buying the Isle of Pines from Cuba, and the 
minority of this committee oppose any such arrangements. Such 
offers to Cuba are not demanded by justice, and they only encourage 
Cubans in making unjust claims upon the United States. 

John T. Morgan. 
W. A. Clark. 

S. Doc. 205, 59-1 15 



^jPIPZEUSTIDIISL ES. 



Appendix A. 

[From Isle oi Pines Appeal Supplement, Monday, December 25, 1905.] 

Reasons why the Isle of Pines should not be ceded by the United States to Cuba. 

Rev. E. W. Frazee has discovered eight excellent reasons why the United States 
should not cede to Cuba the Isle of Pines, all of which are given in full in the fol- 
lowing: 

AGAINST THE ISLE OF PINES BEING CEDED TO CUBA. 

First. It is against the wishes and the protest of all the American residents on the 
island. 

This alone is sufficient. What free government would think of going contrary to 
the wishes of all the citizens? 

Second. The Isle of Pines was acquired by the United States in a benevolent inter- 
vention to rescue a suffering people, and became the home and property of nearly 
2,000 American citizens by the legitimate purchase and settlement under the Ameri- 
can flag, and ceding us to Cuba would on the part of the Government of the United 
States be an act of hostility against her own people and the infliction upon them of 
deep personal injury. 

Third. The previous history of the island shows that on the 22d of April, 1769, 
the whole island became the private property of a Spanish general, and the present 
American owners derive their titles not from Cuba nor through Cuba, but from Spain. 
A tract of more than 1,000 acres is now awaiting settlement of title by the heirs in 
Madrid, and when the title comes it must be from Madrid and not Habana. So that 
not only was the Isle of Pines never a part of the Cuban Republic, but never an inte- 
gral part of Spanish Cuba, and was not in rebellion against Spain, but was used by 
Spain as a penal colony. Therefore ceding us to Cuba would not only be giving 
away American territory, but giving the legitimately acquired property of xirnerican 
citizens to a nation that had no existence when much of that property was acquired. 
We acquired the title of our private property from Spain and deny the right of the 
United States to give us to Cuba without our consent. 

Fourth. At the first Presidential election of the Republic of Cuba the people of the 
Isle of Pines were not allowed to vote, because the Isle of Pines was not a part of 
Cuba. 

Fifth. Any pledge made before the war that the United States would not retain 
possession of Cuba does not apply to an island 40 miles from the Cuban coast. Also 
any promise to give the Isle of Pines to Cuba made by representatives of the Govern- 
ment of the United States is beyond the prerogative of these representatives and is 
not binding. 

On the contrary, the certain promises made to American citizens were such as a rep- 
resentative of the Government had authority to make, and are binding upon the 
administration of the United States Government. 

General Wood had a perfect right to assure the Isle of Pines committee that the 
United States would deal honorably with and protect citizens, but neither he nor 
Secretary Root had any right to promise anything to foreign power. 

And any promises that may have been made, or any promises that Secretary Root 
may now make, have no power to bind the Senate of the United States or prevent 
the Senate from dealing justly with the appeal of 2,000 American citizens. 

If the President and his Administration have promised to give the Isle of Pines to 
Cuba they have exceeded their authority, and the promise is not binding. 

Sixth. During the agitation that preceded the withdrawal of the United States from 
Cuba the Americans on the Isle of Pines sent a committee of three (afterwards 

222 



ISLE OF PINES. 223 

increased to five), to whom General Wood gave the assurance that the Isle of Pines 
would remain United States territory, and for nearly four years they have submitted 
to the hardships and absurdities of Cuban rule, expecting that the United States, 
which set Cuba free from Spain, would set her own citizens free from Cuba. 

Seventh. The conditions in which American citizens find themselves, contrary to 
their expectations and in contravention of the pledges made to them, are so hostile 
to the customs and feelings of American people, as well as to their interests, that 
when it is proposed to make those evil conditions permanent the most loyal Ameri- 
cans can not but feel that the attempt of the administration of the United States Gov- 
ernment to force the ceding of us to Cuba is tyrannical and oppressive in a very high 
degree, and that if those conditions could be known to the members of the United 
States Senate not one United States Senator would vote to ratify the treaty. 

It is yet a question whether Cuba is capable of self-government, and to turn over 
large numbers of free Americans to be governed by a people not competent to gov- 
ern themselves is a treatment of its own people not to be expected of the United 
States, who of all nations makes the loudest boast of protecting its citizens. 

Eighth. If the United States Government is not prepared to do justice to its own 
citizens by at once resuming the control over us which was so unaccountably relin- 
quished in 1902, it is surely a matter of justice that some competent persons be sent 
to the Isle of Pines to find out the true conditions of affairs before we are given away 
in opposition to our unanimous protest. 

President McKinley withheld action toward Spain, saying, "The question is, How 
will it affect our consuls in Cuba? " 

Surely President Roosevelt will not forget how it affects so many hundreds of 
loyal Americans in the Isle of Pines if he persists in urging the Senate to ratify the 
treaty. 

If he does so persist, we appeal to the members of the United States Senate to pro- 
tect their fellow-citizens from the injuries about to be inflicted upon them unbeknown 
to -the Executive. 

E. W. Feazee. 



American rights in the Isle of Pines — Documentary evidence supporting the claim of 

American sovereignty. 

[By Daniel P. Thompson in Public Opinion.] 

Secretary Root's "calling down" of the ambitious Americans who lately attempted 
to set up a Territorial government in the Isle of Pines was undeserved. These Ameri- 
cans were trying to accomplish outside of the usual legal and diplomatic channels 
what, in fact, ought to come to pass — the formal acquisition of the Isle of Pines by the 
United States. We already own it by virtue of the treaty of Paris. That Cuba does 
not own it is shown by the fact, among others of the same import, that a treaty is now 
before the Senate transferring the island to Cuba. If the Isle of Pines is Cuba's, why 
the treaty of 1903? If it is not Cuba's, why the abuse of those Americans who 
attempted in November to organize an American government? The answer to the 
last question is that few newspaper editors and fewer newspaper readers have taken 
the trouble to ascertain the facts upon which the island's status depends. These 
facts are: 

(1 ) That the United States acquired sovereignty over all the Spanish islands of 
the West Indies, except Cuba, by Article II of the treaty of Paris, signed December 
10, 1898, which reads: "Spain cedes to the United States the island of Porto Rico 
and all other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies." 

(2) That the War Department in August, 1899, officially stated that the Isle of 
Pines was "a part of our territory," showing that the Department of the Govern- 
ment especially charged with the control of insular possessions interpreted the treaty 
as conferring ownership of the Isle of Pines upon the United States. 

(3) That the maps prepared and issued by the General Land Office of the Depart- 
ment of the Interior show the Isle of Pines as American territory. 

(4) That the so-called Piatt amendment provided "That the Isle of Pines shall be 
omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries of Cuba, the title thereto left to 
future adjustment by treaty." 

(5) That when Cuba was turned over to the Government of its people in May, 
1902, the military governor was instructed by the Secretary of War to continue "the 
present American military government of the Isle of Pines as the de facto govern- 
ment." 



224 ISLE OF PINES. 

(6) That the treaty negotiated in 1903, and still pending in the Senate, recognizes 
the existence of United States ownership of the Isle of Pines by the provisions of the 
treaty transferring our title to Cuba, the consideration being certain naval stations 
which we already possess. 

(7) That hundreds of Americans, acting upon the assurance of the War Depart- 
ment as well as upon the uniform policy of the Government up to May, 1902, settled 
in the Isle of Pines, established homes there on what they believed to be American 
soil, and invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in agricultural and industrial 
development. 

SPAIN "CEDES" TO THE UNITED STATES. 

As to the provisions of the treaty of Paris, it is important to note that while by 
Article I "Spain relinquishes all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba," Article 
II, as quoted above, cedes all the other Spanish West India islands to the United 
States. Relinquishment of sovereignty is one thing, and in this treaty applies 
exclusively to Cuba. Cession is another thing, and in the treaty of Paris it applies 
to Porto Rico and all other islands, including necessarily the Isle of Pines, unless that 
island is a part of Cuba. 

Fortunately, the published protocols of the second treaty, of Paris are so complete 
that we can follow every step in its making and fathom the meaning and intent of 
its every part. What is the meaning of Article II? There might be some doubt if 
it were not for a protocol presented by one of the Spanish peace commissioners, and 
published as an annex to protocol No. 9. This note reads: 

"They (the United States) did claim sovereignty over the latter (Porto Rico) and 
over the other islands surrounding Cuba, which will render impossible the independ- 
ence of the latter without the good will and gracious consent of the United States, 
which will always have it at their mercy through their control over the islands 
which inclose it like a band of iron." 

This is as plain as words can make it; the commissioners of the United States 
were demanding sovereignty over the islands surrounding Cuba; they were asking 
freedom for Cuba, and ownership for the United States of everything else Spain had 
in the West Indies. Not only was this the demand of our commissioners at Paris; 
it was what we got by Article II of the treaty as signed. Six months after the treaty 
was made no more questions had arisen over our ownership of the Isle of Pines than 
had come up in regard to Porto Rico. They were on the same basis exactly — pos- 
sessions of the United States, acquired by treaty from Spain. 

The War Department, under whose control these possessions fell, had apparently 
not the slightest doubt that the Isle of Pines was American territory. A military 
government was established, Americans began to flock to the island, attracted by its 
rich soil and the prospect of enlightened administration under the control of the 
United States. One of these settlers, more cautious than the rest, sought official infor- 
mation as to the island's status. This settler was George Bridges, a resident of Penn- 
sylvania, who wrote to the War Department under date of August 10, 1899, as 
follows: 

" I am seeking information respecting the Isle of Pines. Does it come in as Porto 
Rico or under same condition as Cuba? I expect to go there in November, and for 
this information I would thank you in advance." 

A PART OF OUR TERRITORY. 

The War Department replied to this letter under date of August 14, 1899. The 
form of the letter, the source of its authority, and the statement regarding the tem- 
porary inclusion under the military department of Cuba are all important and sig- 
nificant: 

"Referring to your communication of August 10th instant soliciting information 
respecting the Isle of Pines, I am directed by the Assistant Secretary of War to advise 
you that this island ivas ceded by Spain to the United /States and is, therefore, a part of 
our territory, although it is attached at present to the division of Cuba for govern- 
mental purposes. A copy of the 'Isle of Pines' is inclosed for your information, and 
you are advised that the disposition of public lands must await the action of Con- 
gress. 

' ' Very respectfully, John J. Pershing, 

' 'Assistant Adjutant- General. ' ' 

This official declaration was supposed to settle all question as to the island's owner- 
ship. It was "ceded" by Spain to us; it was a "part of our territory," and was so 
regarded by the Department of the Government under whose control it fell. Finally, 
the disposition of the public lands was awaiting the action of Congress, which cer- 
tainly would have no jurisdiction if the island was, or was to be, Cuban territory. 



ISLE OF PIKES. 225 

MAPS SHOW ISLAND TO BE AMERICAN. 

The attitude of the General Land Office was the same as that of the War Depart- 
ment. The Land Office maps, one of which hangs on the walls of the Bureau of 
Insular Affairs in the War Department, shows the Isle of Pines as United States 
territory, differing in no way from Porto Rico. 

Geographically the Isle of Pines is no more a part of Cuba than the Danish island 
of St. Thomas is a part of Porto Rico. The distance between the smaller and larger 
islands is about the same in each case. The Isle of Pines is from 38 to 60 miles from 
Cuba, according as the distance is measured to the inner or the outer part of the bay 
which cuts into the provinces of Pinar del Rio and Habana to the northward. In 
former times, that is, until Spain's important West Indian possessions narrowed down 
to Cuba and Porto Rico, the Isle of Pines was not included within the scope of the 
Spanish administration of Cuba. It is fair to say, therefore, that neither politically 
nor geographically is the Isle of Pines a part of the island of Cuba. Miles of sea 
separate them, and nothing but the recent control cf the smaller island by the 
Habana government serves to connect them. 

CUBA GIVES UP HER CLAIMS. 

So far we have been dealing with the declarations of our own Government, its 
rights and title to the Isle of Pines, and the policy its officials pursued. Cuba her- 
self has recognized that she holds no conflicting title by the incorporation in her 
constitution of that part of the Piatt amendment (act of Congress, Mar. 2, 1901) 
which expressly excludes the island from the territorial boundaries of the Republic. 
The language of the act of Congress and of the Cuban constitution is identical — "The 
Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the constitutional boundaries of Cuba." This 
was the provision adopted by the constitutional convention at Habana, June 12, 
1901, by a vote of 16 to 11. The newspapers of that time say that there was no dis- 
cussion, the "amendment," leaving the Isle of Pines out of Cuban jurisdiction, being 
accepted without debate. This action left the island under American administration 
and control. It so remained until May 16, 1902. On May 20 the island of Cuba was, 
by authority of the President, turned over to the newly organized Republic. Four 
days previously the Secretary of War, in anticipation of the Cuban independence 
day, instructed the military governor to continue "the present government of the 
Isle of Pines as a de facto government." 

In other words, the Cuban Republic was about to assume sovereignty over the 
island of Cuba, the Isle of Pines being excluded by the fundamental law of Cuba 
from its jurisdiction, was to remain under the "present," that is, the American 
military government. There was no other government under which it could remain 
than the United States military government, which had been in control since Janu- 
ary 1, 1899, when Spain withdrew. Furthermore, the War Department could not 
have failed to give instructions for the continuance of the military government unless 
it intended either to ignore the act of March 2 or to leave the island without any 
government whatever. 

But what the War Department did not assume to do, as shown by the instructions 
of May 16, was done by Governor-General Leonard Wood. Notwithstanding the orders 
of his superiors, notwithstanding the act of Congress expressly excluding the Isle of 
Pines from Cuban control, General Wood turned the island over to the new Republic, 
which has ever since administered its affairs as though the Isle of Pines was as much 
a part of the Cuban Republic as the Province of Habana. A more amazing instance 
of disregard of law would be hard to find: A United States army officer ignoring an 
act of Congress and the orders of the War Department and at the same time partici- 
pating in the assumption of another state of powers not only denied to it by law, but 
actually hostile to the rights and interests of the nation General Wood was supposed 
to represent. 

In the always painful position of fillius nullius the Isle of Pines has remained, but 
from the date of General Wood's withdrawal under the parental control if not the 
ownership of Cuba. American settlers increased. American capital poured in, until it 
appeared possible that the island might be presented to Cuba. Then came the treaty 
of July 21, 1903. This in terms gives the Isle of Pines to Cuba— for what? Why, for 
naval stations which ive already possess by separate treat;/. The important articles relat- 
ing to the Isle of Pines in this treaty read: 

"The United States of America relinquish in favor of the Republic of Cuba all 
claim to the title to the Island of Pines, situated in the Caribbean Sea near the south- 
western part of the island of Cuba, which has or may be made in virtue of articles 1 
and 2 of the treaty of peace between the United States and Spain, signed in Paris 
December 10, 1898. 



226 ISLE OF PINES. 

"This relinquishment by the United States of claim of title to said Island of Pines 
is made in consideration of the concessions of coaling and naval stations which have 
heretofore been made to the United States of America by the Republic of Cuba." 

The treaty of 1903 has been until now successfully opposed on the ground that it 
gave away a valuable possession without adequate compensation and because the 
transfer to Cuba meant the expatriation of several hundred Americans who justly 
demand that they shall not be deprived of the protection of their Government. 
Secretary Hay was of the opinion that the Isle of Pines belonged to the United 
States. It was in dependence upon his attitude and that of the Administration in 
general, and upon the basis of the openly, publicly, and officially proclaimed United 
States ownership that the Navy Department surveyed for the location of naval sta- 
tions, and that Americans made their homes and invested their money in the Isle of 
Pines. More than two-thirds of the island, about 450,000 acres, now belong to 
citizens of the United States, together with improvements valued at hundreds of 
thousands of dollars. 

Giving the facts here set forth their due weight, the opposition to the transfer of 
the Isle of Pines to Cuba becomes a movement easy to understand, if not to sympa- 
thize with. If the rights and reasonable expectations of the American settlers and 
investors were not of sufficient moment to prevent the transfer, there are other con- 
siderations of national importance which should stay the hand of Congress and the 
Administration. For this is not a question of "justice to Cuba" or of returning to 
her something which she once possessed. It is a question of keeping what belongs to 
us. These national considerations are that the Isle of Pines has a commercial and stra- 
tegic value too important to be ignored. The Panama Canal is being built. The 
Isle of Pines commands the Yucatan channel and therefore the principal trade route 
from our Atlantic and Gulf ports to the Isthmus. 

The Isle of Pines is the land closest to Mexico and Honduras— it is the key to those 
waters which we hope to see teem with American commerce. The Isle of Pines has 
a soil of great fertility, and whatever modern development of this soil has taken 
place has been accomplished by American toil and American dollars. 

It is this possession that it is proposed to give away. It is the American residents 
of this American possession who are rebuked by officials and newspapers when their 
anxiety leads them into an attempt rather pitiable than censurable to set up an 
American government on American soil. 



Appendix B. 



To His Excellency Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, the honorable President of the United Stales, 

the honorable United States Senators, and the honorable Congressmen of the United 

States, Washington, D. C. 

Sies: In view of the fact that the future of the Isle of Pines and the citizenship and 
property interests of more than 2,000 Americans will be under consideration and pos- 
sibly decided by our worthy Executive and the present assembling Congress, I beg 
to submit for your kind consideration the following facts and reasons why the Senate 
should refuse to ratify the pending " Isle of Pines treaty," wherein for an imaginary 
consideration it is proposed that the United States shall cede the Isle of Pines to the 
Republic of Cuba. 

First. Because the Isle of Pines is and has been officially acknowledged to be 
United States territory. 

The treaty of Paris, carefully drawn and following Spanish official usage, discrimi- 
nated between the "Island of Cuba," "Porto Rico," and "other islands in the West 
Indies." 

Over the "Island of Cuba" Spain by treaty "relinquished all claims of sovereignty 
and title," " Porto Rico " and "other islands in the West Indies" (of which the Isle 
of Pines was one) were "ceded to the United States," as is clearly shown by the fact 
that President McKinley (who was at the head of the executive department of our 
Government, when the treaty of Paris was signed and ratified) gave specific instruc- 
tions that the Isle of Pines should be noted upon the large cession map of the United 
States that shows the different acquisitions of public domain to our country from the 
various sources through which we derive original title, and decreed that the Isle of 
Pines should be placed there as inuring to the United States under the treaty of Paris. 

Again, both the Government of the United States and the Government of the 
Republic of Cuba fully and freely recognized, and, through their respective repre- 
sentatives, officially acknowledged the "Isle of Pines" to be United States territory 
when their plenipotentiaries drew up and signed the present " Isle of Pines treaty," 



ISLE OF PIJSTES. 227 

wherein the United States proposes to cede the Isle of Pines to the Republic of Cuba. 
If the title to the Isle of Pines was not vested in the United States, certainly our 
country could not cede it to Cuba. 

Second. Because the Constitution of the United States does not permit of any part 
of its domain being ceded by treaty. 

Careful investigation fails to discover an instance on record where the United 
States, by treaty, has ever ceded to a foreign government any part of its territory. The 
only guide or precedent that is obtainable requires the joint action of both Houses of 
Congress and a vote of the people residing in the territory (that it is proposed to 
cede) before the President can transfer title. 

Third. Because the Americans who now own the major portion of the island and 
were officially informed that the Isle of Pines was United States territor}^. 

The Isle of Pines is to-day almost entirely owned by Americans. More than 2,000 
bona ride purchasers have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for their home- 
steads, which they are clearing and making ready for planting, many of whom were 
induced to invest after receiving official and other assurances given from time to time 
assuring them beyond doubt that the Isle of Pines was United States territory. 

Gen. Leonard Wood, while acting in his official capacity as military governor- 
general of Cuba and of the Isle of Pines, did, on the 17th day of April, 1902, person- 
ally assure a committee of representative Americans from this island (who had already 
invested hundreds of thousands of dollars of American capital here believing the 
island to be unquestionably United States territory) "that they need have no fear 
regarding the future of the Isle of Pines," and "advised them to go ahead as they 
had been doing in the past," "that their interests would be fully conserved," giving 
them to understand positively that the Isle of Pines was, and would always remain, 
United States territory. 

On August 10, 1899, Mr. George Bridges wrote to the War Department as follows: 

"I am seeking information respecting the Isle of Pines. Does it come in as 
Porto Eico, or under the same conditions as Cuba? I expect to go there in Novem- 
ber, and for this information I would thank you in advance." 

The War Department under date of August 14, 1899, replied as follows: 

"Replying to your communication of August 10th instant, soliciting information 
respecting the Isle of Pines, I am directed by the Assistant Secretary of War to 
advise you that this island was ceded by Spain to the United States and is therefore 
a part of our territory, although it is attached at present to the Division of Cuba, for 
governmental purposes. A copy of the Isle of Pines pamphlet is inclosed for your 
information, and you are advised that the disposition of public lands must await the 
action of Congress. 

" Very respectfully, "John J. Pershing, 

' ' Assistant Adjutant- General. ' ' 

This was accepted as sufficient proof that the Isle of Pines had been ceded by Spain 
to the United States. 

The War Department, which had administrative control at that time, declared that 
it was ' ' a part of our territory, ' ' and relying upon this and other statements we brought 
our families here to live and made improvements precisely as we would have done 
had we removed to any other territory belonging to the United States. 

Fourth. Because of the agricultural, mineral, and submarine wealth. 

The Isle of Pines is wonderfully rich in natural resources. Ninety per cent of its 
land surface will produce all of the most valuable tropical fruits, tobacco, and vege- 
tables. Its mine's contain an inexhaustible supply of the very finest kind of statuary 
and ornamental marble, while the sponging and fishing industries in the adjacent 
waters yield annually between $500,000 and $1,000,000. 

Fifth. Because of its strategic position nearness to the Isthmus Canal and peculiar 
advantages as a point to establish a naval station and base of supplies. 

Siguanea Bay with its many strategic possibilities, spacious and perfectly land- 
locked harbors, and located as it is directly on the Yucatan Channel, 300 miles nearer 
the Panama Canal than either of the coaling stations in Cuba, together with our 
delightful and healthful climate and pure w T ater makes this bay and island an ideal 
place to establish a naval station and base of supplies, in protection of the Isthmus 
Canal and for the convenience of both our Atlantic and Pacific squadrons which in 
the time of war would undoubtedly prove invaluable. And in view of the fact that 
England is strongly fortifying her Jamaican possessions and establishing there a base 
of supplies; that France is actively at work strengthening her islands in the West 
Indies, and that Germany is watching and guarding a couple of neighboring posses- 
sions with jealous and greedy intentions, it would seem that the situation is at least 
worthy of careful study and thorough investigation. 



228 ISLE OF PINES. 

Sixth. Because of the extraordinary opportunity of the United States to establish 
a model government in the Isle of Pines and demonstrate to the world what an ener- 
getic, economical, and model government can accomplish in the Tropics. 

In the Isle of Pines the Government of the United States is afforded a matchless 
opportunity of planting a distinctly American colony in the very heart of the West 
Indies, which would be an example and a lasting object lesson for the neighboring 
Latin Republics of Central and South America. 

Seventh. Because nine-tenths of the inhabitants of the Isle of Pines are Americans, 
who own more than five-sixths of the tillable area of the island. 

The Americans on this island (including these natives who were residing here and 
became citizens of the United States when the "treaty of Paris," which ceded the 
Isle of Pines to our country, was ratified) number fully nine-tenths of the inhab- 
itants of this island, who, under the present regime, never were and never would be 
content with Cuban rule, as the old Spanish custom of representation and of dealing 
out political plums is indulged in as faithfully to-day as it was during colonial days, 
and instead of giving the position to a respected resident of the community it is 
given to some "carpetbagger" from the island of Cuba, usually some liberator, or 
a favored son of a Cuban, or a Cuban politician, whose greatest interest in his office 
is in the salary that he draws from the Government, and who rarely understands or 
appreciates the needs of the people he serves. 

Under these circumstances laws that would be advantageous to us would not be 
enacted by Cuba or Cubans, and laws that might be acceptable to them would be 
more than two hundred years behind the times, and with the land in the hands of 
the Americans, who would have nothing whatever to say about the administration, 
etc., endless complaint and repeated international complications would surely be the 
result. 

Eighth. Because the Piatt amendment and the Cuban constitution are disregarded 
and American residents forced to pay unlawful duties and taxes. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the Piatt amendment and the constitution of the 
Republic of Cuba both plainly state that the Cuban laws shall not extend to the 
Island of Pines, yet that Government is to-day openly and defiantly violating both of 
these acts by attempting to apply and enforce recently enacted Cuban laws on the 
American residents and property owners in this island, which compels them to pay 
additional and excessive duties on goods coming from the United States. While the 
customs officials in the United States refuse to recognize the Cuban reciprocity act 
on the grounds that the Isle of Pines is not Cuban territory, and the above-mentioned 
Cuban officials are further attempting to violate the above acts by enforcing the col- 
lection of Cuban revenue stamp taxes, and most unjust and unreasonable of all is the 
latest attempt to enforce in the Isle of Pines a recently enacted Cuban law which adds 
30 per cent to all taxes, licenses, fines, and duties, etc., that are collected, the proceeds 
of which are to create a fund for the Cuban liberators, to whom so many millions 
have already been paid, while not a cent of these excessive revenues, "taxes, and 
duties so unlawfully collected from the American residents and property owners of 
the Island of Pines during the last four years has been expended on this island. 
Our roads are neglected, bridges rotting, and public work suspended. 

Ninth. Because homesteaders think the good faith of the United States is involved 
in retention, and will not silently submit to" being sold or bartered like so many cattle 
or swine and being ruled by an inferior people. 

Aside, however, from the various phases of the question mentioned above, we feel 
that the good faith of the United States is involved in a measure for its retention, for 
upon the practical assurance of such retention, embodied in the " treaty of Paris, " sub- 
sequent Congressional action, and various assurances given from time to time to home 
seekers privatelv and in official documents, hundreds of citizens of the United States, 
believing the Isle of Pines to be unquestionably United States territory, have secured 
homes on this island, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in American capital have 
been invested here, until to-day its citizens own and control more than five-sixths of 
the tillable area of the island, who never have and never will silently submit to being 
ruled by an inferior race of people, administering ancient and obnoxious laws calcu- 
lated only to retard progress and check development; and were we forcibly annexed 
to the Republic of Cuba, it would simply be selling into bondage the birthright and 
vested property interests of more than 2,000 of our own people, which we trust and 
pray that our worthy Executive and honorable lawmakers will never permit, 

If the Isle of Pines is ceded to Cuba, it will surely prove a curse to her. Cuba 
needs money; she does not want' a hostile island possession. No American com- 
munity will long endure the outrageous exactions oi corrupt Cuban officials, such as 
they are continually subjecting us to here. The native residents of the Isle of Pines 
are friendly, peaceable, and industrious, being courteous to the last degree. They 



ISLE OF PINES. 229 

appreciate an American, and are anxious to see them come, knowing that they bring 
work and prosperity to the island, while the officials who were sent here from Cuba, 
including the ,rural guards and about one dozen families, comprise the sum total of 
Cuban citizens that are on the Isle of Pines to-day, and it is those latter who dislike 
the Americans, realizing as they do that sooner or later they must give up their lucra- 
tive positions and go back to Cuba, which is the sole reason for their bitterness 
toward Americans. For instance, only a short time ago a traction engine owned by 
an American was passing along the road when a native house accidentally caught fire 
from sparks from the engine. The damage was promptly paid and a receipt taken 
in full from the owner. Several days afterwards the Cuban officials learned of the 
accident, induced the owner to move out of the house and preferred a charge of 
"arson" against the engineer, apparently for no other reason than to obtain the 
fees and expenses which they get for making arrests, attending court, and incidentally 
to make it as unpleasant as possible for the hated American; for after causing him 
to pay more than $100 in fines, expenses, etc., the case was dismissed, but no money 
was refunded. 

Another American was scandalously insulted, maltreated, arrested, and taken more 
than 20 miles, simply because he refused to sign his name to a document written in 
Spanish, without first having the same translated, so as to know what he was signing. 
Also one of our most honorable and respected citizens was found dead. His body 
was taken to the cemetery and in the open graveyai'd, the sun pouring down in all 
of his magnificent splendor with only a cloud now and then to hide his shamed face 
and in full view of the whole populace of more than 500 people, men, women, and 
little children, the officers of the law, regardless of protests and pleadings from the 
dead man's friends, denuded the corpse of every vestige of clothing, and with an 
ordinary carpenter's handsaw, chisel, and hatchet, proceeded to perform what was 
supposed to have been an autopsy. The chopping and pounding of the hatchet and 
chisel to break and sever the bones and the working of the handsaw, in the act of 
sawing off the top of the head, which was done after the manner of sawing cord 
wood, caused the cold chills to chase one another up and down our spinal columns 
in rapid succession notwithstanding the fact that the thermometer stood at 80° F., 
the evident purpose and intention being to desecrate the dead and to openly insult 
the Americans, who were horrified at the ghastly sight and proceedings; while still 
another refined and feeble Southern gentleman of some 75 years, who had spent 
more than fifty years of his life in educational work, was arrested, manacled, and 
thrown into prison for the alleged heinous crime of refusing to disturb or exhume the 
body of his aged and beloved brother, who had been buried in an American ceme- 
tery, which burying ground, unfortunately, had not been blessed and sanctified by 
the holy Catholic church. 

Knowing that this old gentleman had been reared in the South and was particu- 
larly s?nsitive as regards the color line and association with negroes, every effort 
was made by the Cuban officials to humiliate him — first, by manacling him to a big 
burly negro and finally by giving him as a cell mate a depraved, profane, drunken 
negro woman of the very lowest type and another crazy negress with whom he was 
told to share his bed and pillow, but due to his early training, he preferred instead 
thereof the soft side of the filthy stone floor of the cell, without either mattress or 
covering. 

The kind, charitable neighbors, Americans, who assisted at the interment of the 
old man's brother in preference to suffering arrest and further prosecution, as they 
were threatened by the Cuban officials in charge, were compelled to exhume the 
body five days after death and place it in the consecrated burying ground at Santa 
Fe, 9 miles distant. 

The undertaking was most horrible and ghastly. The remains which hail by this 
time been reduced to a liquid state, slushed out through the cracks in the rough pine 
box that was used as a coffin, covering the bed of the vehicle, and from there was 
distributed along the roadway, causing a flock of buzzards to follow in their wake for 
almost the entire distance. 

These and many other cases may be recited to demonstrate the utter inability of 
the Cubans to govern in a civilized manner, justly, and without prejudice, especially 
in a case of this kind where five-sixths of the land is owned by and nine-tenths of 
the people are American citizens. 

The most consistent solution of the problem would seem to be to pay Cuba cash 
for the coaling station privileges which she grants us and, if necessary, make her a 
present of some kind to help her to help pay her patriotic army of liberators. Then 
the Cubans' great love for this island would vanish and melt away like a snowball 
in a hot furnace, for neither Cuba nor the Cubans have any deep-seated love for the 
Isle of Pines, ever remembering it as a prison and penal colony, and associating 



230 ISLE OF PINES. 

unpleasant memories of years of torture, imprisonment, and servitude that they were 
compelled to suffer during Spanish days, and it is an open secret among them from 
almost the highest to the lowest Cuban official that a few millions would amply pay 
Cuba for any imaginary or presumed claims which she may set up. Many frankly 
acknowledge that Cuba has no legal claim whatsoever, but is asserting that she has 
such a claim in the hopes to get as much money as possible from the United States. 

Surely the vested rights and personal liberties of loyal American citizens should not 
be sacrificed for an imaginary claim that dollars and cents would better and more 
agreeably satisfy, and more* especially so because the Americans were positively 
assured by their own Government that the Isle of Pines was and is United States 
territory. 

Therefore, as bona fide citizens of the United States, having no wish of expatriat- 
ing ourselves, we now appeal to our own Government not to become a party to any 
act or treaty that will force expatriation upon us. 

The turning over of the Isle of Pines to Cuba would not only be giving that Gov- 
ernment the control of the island, but would affect the citizenship and be placing 
under its absolute control the vested property interests of more than 2,000 citizens of 
the United States, who would thus be forced out of their own country, driven from 
under their own flag, deprived of the value of their property without hopes of com- 
pensation, thereby reducing many of them to want and misery, which we will ever 
trust and pray that our honorable lawmakers will never permit. 
Very respecfully, 

Chas. Raynaed, 

Santa Rosalia Heights, Secretary American Society 

Isle of Pines, West Indies, October 23, 1905. 



Statement of Reginald Schroeder. 

Washington, D. C, March 22, 1904- 
My Dear Sir: I beg to submit to you herewith, as requested, a chart of the waters 
surrounding the Isle of Pines, issued by the Navy Department, with some corrections 
made after soundings taken during the past three months' by the master of our vessel 
plying between Calapatch Island and Batabano. Also a statement containing facts 
concerning the Isle of Pines, its climate, its usefulness as a health resort, harbors, etc. 
If you should require any further explanation of points mentioned that might not 
have* been made sufficiently clear, Mr. J. H. Brown, who wrote the brief and who 
knows the Isle of Pines well from personal observation, will be glad to furnish the 
same. 

Very respectfully, yours, Reginald Schroeder, 

Room 14, Post Building. 
Hon. John T. Morgan, 

United States Senate. 



FACTS AGAINST THE RATIFICATION OF THE ISLE OF PINES TREATY. 

1. The treaty of Paris clearly gives it to the United States. The language of the 
Spanish text (Art. II) is even stronger than that of the English text. 

2. Cuban public sentiment, as well as American public sentiment, was in accord 
with the official declaration of the American Government that the Isle of Pines was 
American territory until the discovery was made that the administration was willing 
to transfer it to Cuba. 

3. American citizens, acting under the official declaration of Assistant Secretary of 
War Meiklejohn and other high officials that the Isle of Pines was American terri- 
tory, made investments in the Isle of Pines, have moved there with their families, 
and to-day own three-fourths of the valuable areas of the island, control its enter- 
prises, and produce nine-tenths of its crops. There are now less than thirty native 
owners of real estate resident in the Isle of Pines. There are over five hundred Ameri- 
can citizens owners of real estate in said island. 

4. Under Cuban laws real estate transfers are extremely difficult and expensive. 
In the case of the small holdings of the great majority of American citizens resident, 
who would prefer to return to the United States rather than endure. expatriation, 
they would be compelled to sacrifice the greater part of their property, with all their 
improvements, in selling to pay the cost of transfer, even if they were able to sell at 



ISLE OF PINES. 231 

all. The Cuban Government promised to transfer the land records of the Isle of 
Pines from Bejucal, in Cuba, to Nueva Gerona. This has not been done and does 
not seem to be actively contemplated. As a matter of fact all these records less than 
20 years of age are under the control of the notary at Bejucal and are not subject to 
governmental orders. Only special legislation providing for the establishment of a 
new set of records in the Isle of Pines will meet the difficulty. 

5. Nine-tenths of the Cubans (nut officeholders) resident in the Isle of Pines and 
all the Spaniards, as Well as the Americans, prefer to remain under the American flag. 

6. The prejudices engendered in the minds of the Cuban officials by the attitude 
of the Americans against annexation is sure to lead to friction and reprisals in case 
of the ratification of the treaty, and the resulting international complications will 
cause serious trouble, if not bloodshed. The Cuban Government has already sent 
a company of rural guards to the island — a spot where crimeand disorder are unknown — 
and their swaggering, swashbuckler manners are extremely offensive to the American 
residents. 

7. The Cuban Government has negotiated a loan of $35, 000,000 to pay in part the 
soldiers' claims, which now amount to nearly $60,000,000. This loan, negotiated at 
90.5 per cent, will net on the face $31,675,000, paying but little over 50 per cent of 
the claims. As a matter of fact, the soldiers' claims have been bought in largely 
by syndicates of speculators, aided and abetted by Cuban officials, at from 20 to 30 
per cent of their face. So in reality not over $7,000,000 of the loan of $35,000,000 will 
reach the people. In face of such crooked financiering it is doubly unjust to thrust 
upon these Americans of the Isle of Pines expatriation and the heavy burdens of an 
incapable, corrupt, and un-American government. 

8. It is now reported that Admiral Dewey's investigation of Bahia Honda shows 
that point to be entirely unsuitable for a coaling station, thus confirming the report 
of Commander Lucien Young to the Navy Department. If this be true, half the 
ostensible consideration named in the Isle of Pines treaty disappears. Certainly the 
Isle of Pines should not be transferred without adequate consideration. 

9. And if the United States is to receive coaling stations of great value from the 
Cuban Government and to pay for them by a transfer of the Isle of Pines, should not 
the Americans whose property holdings are pecuniarily damaged by the transfer 
receive compensation just as much as the Cubans whose property is taken for coaling 
stations? 

10. One of the statements used as an argument to maintain the theory that the 
Isle of Pines is geographically a part of Cuba is that "the waters between are so 
shallow that Spain was forced to abandon its use as a penal colony because the con- 
victs used to wade across from the island to Cuba." This is stupidly false. There 
is a stretch of over 30 miles of water between the Isle of Pines and the Cuban main- 
land, farther than from Florida to the Great Bahamas, containing channels with from 
2 to 3 fathoms of water, traversed by coasting steamers and sailing vessels of consid- 
erable tonnage. Through the Lesser Antilles, islands of four distinct nationalities lie 
more contiguous than the Isle of Pines to the Cuban mainland. 

11. One of the most important considerations which has stirred the Cuban Govern- 
ment up to desiring the Isle of Pines is that in the waters adjacent thereto and con- 
sidered as appertaining to the Isle of Pines are the most important sponge fisheries 
in the world. Should the Isle of Pines be retained by the United States these waters 
would inevitably come under American control, and fisheries, the present value of 
which is in excess of $3,000,000 a year, be transferred from Batabano, in Cuba, to 
Nueva Gerona and other points in the Isle of Pines. 

12. Under American control these fisheries w r ould not only increase greatly in 
value, but would furnish from among the Spanish fishermen, who form practically 
the entire body, hundreds of sturdy sailors for the American Caribbean Squadron — ■ 
hardy, active men, good sailors, brave, sober, and thoroughly acclimated. 

13. In the keys to the east of the Isle of Pines and considered as a part thereof are 
numerous channels and sheltered areas admirably adapted for the torpedo boats and 
light-draft vessels which will form the major portion of the Caribbean Squadron, 
which will always be of great importance in maintaining control of the Caribbean 
Basin, made necessary by the building of the Panama Canal. Coaling stations for 
these vessels can be located on islands already under the American flag, with ample 
fresh water for the use of the squadron. Why give these up? There is no adequate 
survey of these waters; the naval charts are inaccurate, but information can be had 
from reliable Americans who have made particular and personal investigation of these 
waters and islands to bear out the above assertion. 

14. Calete Grande, on the southwest coast of the Isle of Pines, has 23 feet of water 
in its harbor. It is now the halfway station between Jamaica, ihe Caiman Islands, 
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the Gulf ports. Its importance will be vastly increased 



232 ISLE OF PINES. 

by the building of the Panama Canal. It is now American territory. Why sur- 
render it? Less expenditure than will be necessary to make Bahia Honda suitable 
as a coaling station will make Siguanea Bay, on the west coast of the Isle of Pines. 
available, and its location is much superior. If Bahia Honda is not suitable, why 
surrender Siguanea Bay? 

15. The United States has established Cuba as an independent Government, has 
loaned her $3,000,000 without interest for an indefinite period, has assumed the pay- 
ment of millions of dollars in the claims of American citizens against the Spanish 
Government when it is notorious that nine-tenths of these "citizens" are Cubans 
resident in Cuba and having no interests outside of that island. The United States 
has granted to Cuba reciprocity, and in every way shown friendship and considera- 
tion. Is it not time that our obligations to Cuba were considered as canceled? 

Remember that Cuba has not yet ratified the general treaty carrying into effect the 
Piatt amendment. Remember that before the reciprocity treaty was in effect the 
Cuban House of Representatives had formulated a measure raising the tariff on Ameri- 
can products 25 per cent. Should not this whole question of the Isle of Pines be 
carefully investigated before hundreds of American citizens are expatriated and their 
property interests seriously jeopardized? 

16. A suit is now pending in the Supreme Court which calls for a decision inter- 
preting Article II of the treaty of Paris in respect of the sovereignty of the Isle of 
Pines. Should that decision reaffirm the sovereignty of the United States it is obvi- 
ous that this treaty would be null and void, as the Constitution specifically declares 
that — 

"Congress shall have power to dispose of the territory * * * of the United 
States." 

DATA RELATIVE TO NAVAL AND MARITIME IMPORTANCE OF THE ISLE OF PINES. 

While the coast line of the Isle of Pines, irrespective of its adjacent keys, is defined 
with reasonable accuracy in the latest charts of Cuba and the West Indies, the same 
can not be said of the soundings of its coastal waters and estuaries. To the north and 
west fairly accurate measurements are to be found on the latest edition of Cuba, issued 
by the Hydrographic Office, United States Department of the Navy, No. 2145. To the 
south and east no figures of value are given. The southern waters fortunately slope 
into the deep levels of the Caribbean Sea, where more than a thousand fathoms of 
water are found within gunshot of Cape Pepe and Playa Larga (Long Beach) . To the 
east lie the long reaches of keys, which are considered as attached to the Isle of Pines, 
extending beyond Cayo Largo to the Jardanillos bank, a distance from Cape Pepe of 
slightly over two degrees of longitude, some 120 miles of coast, absolutely unprotected 
b\ light-house or buoy. 

Vessels passing from Cienfuegos, in Cuba, Manzanillo, Trinidad, and the Caiman 
Islands pass along this coast, using Calete Grande, to the northwest of Cape Pepe, as 
a half-way house to the Gulf ports and as a harbor of refuge in case of severe storm. 
Several channels lead through these easterly keys, the most notable of which is 
Rosario, passing between Cantilles and Rosario keys, and given on the chart 2\ 
fathoms of water. As a matter of fact, vessels drawing 17 feet of water can betaken 
through this channel into the deep waters of the Gulf of Batabano, where over a 
stretch 40 miles north and south and from 15 to 30 east and west from 25 to 30 feet 
of water are found, sheltered by the surrounding keys from storms of every character. 
West and south of Cantilles lies Calapatch Island, almost on the hundred-fathom 
line of the Caribbean, sheltered on the north and east by the range of the Agna- 
dientes keys and on the east and south by Calapatch Mehagan reef. 

The southwesterly side of Calapatch Island, under the shelter of this reef, forms 
one of the most admirable stretches of protected water in this whole region. The 
prevailing storms are from the north and east, while the rare but terrific West India 
hurricanes coming off the periphery of the Caribbean Sea strike this region from the 
southeast. Under the shelter of Calapatch Island lies a large stretch of water 
approachable from an arc of 120° deep enough for the largest vessels and extensive 
enough for the navies of the whole world. From this point channels deep enough 
for light-draft cruisers, torpedo boats, and torpedo-boat destroyers run to the eastward 
inside Calapatch Mehagan reef to Rosario channel. Channels deep enough for tor- 
pedo boats run northeasterly both to the east and west of Tablones keys into the 
Gulf of Batabano, and to the northwest by Campos, Icacos, and Matias by Point Coral 
through channels in the Mangles to connect with the waters immediately north of 
the Isle of Pines. On Cantilles, Calapatch, Campos, and Icacos may be found ample 
supplies of fresh water for naval use, and at several points sufficiently abrupt shores 
for secondary coaling stations. When it is borne in mind that west of 75.10, the 



ISLE OF PINES. 233 

longitude of Guantanamo, 9° of longitude and nearly 2 of latitude cover the stretch 
in which the United States will have neither naval station, coaling station, nor har- 
hor of refuge from Guantanamo to Gape San Antonio, should the Isle of Pines and 
and its adjacent keys be ceded to Cuba, it is evident that careml consideration should 
be given to the naval and maritime importance of these waters. 

With the waters sheltered by Calapateh Island as a base, with its three channels 
of retreat, connecting with the waters north of the Isle of Pines, with Rosario chan- 
nel and the Gulf of Batabano, it is evident that here liea a paint from which an 
American torpedo squadron could emerge to play havoc with an enemy or retreat 
when pursued by superior force. It could be coaled and watered in safe waters 
and could emerge either to the north of the Isle of Pines or through the Gulf of 
Cazones, far beyond reach of the enemy, ready for offensive operations. 

Under Cuban control not a single light has been erected along these coasts, although 
over 200 vessels run out of the port of Batabano alone in the sponging and fishing 
industry, and the numerous wrecks which line the shores of Cayo Largo, Jack Taylor 
reef, Calapateh Mehagan reef, and the Playa Larga of the Isle of Pines testify to their 
need. 

Caleta Grande deserves especial notice. Situated on the southwest coast of the Isle 
of Pines, its small but convenient harbor shows 23 feet of water inside the bar, which 
has an open channel leading into the deep water of the Caribbean. The harbor con- 
tains a square mile of good deep water anchorage, and on the south and west sides 
deep-water piers can be constructed at low cost. This harbor is already used as the 
halfway port between Jamaica, the Caiman Islands, and points on the south coast of 
Cuba for vessels of all characters bound for Gulf ports. Quite a little colony of Amer- 
icans and Caiman islanders, who are English speaking people of pure English stock, 
has established itself at this port and is now actively engaged in lumbering and 
planting fruit — bananas, oranges, cocoanuts, and other tropical products. This port 
is the best harbor and natural halfway station for all vessels bound from lower Cen- 
tral America, Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama to the Gulf ports of the United 
States. It is bound to grow in importance with the development of the commerce of 
the Caribbean basin. Its future under American control will be assured. It would 
seem flying in the face of manifest destiny to transfer to an alien flag the port which 
of all others seems destined to receive so much of an enormous and almost exclu- 
sively American commerce. 

Directly across the narrow arm of the Isle of Pines on which Caleta Grande is 
situated lies Siguanea Bay. This extensive sheet of water, 15 miles in width by over 
20 in length, contains from 22 to 35 feet of water, and by the dredging of a short 
channel through the sand bar to the north of Point Frances will be available for 
vessels of deep draft, and contains several sites eminently suitable for coaling stations. 
Let it be borne in mind that owing to the shallow character of most of the Gulf and 
Carribbean ports the preponderating type of both naval and commercial vessels in 
these waters will be of less than 20 feet draft. Therefore harbors and stations which 
elsewhere should be, as is that at Guantanamo, of the deepest character, in these 
waters must of necessity conform in a greater degree to the physical characteristics 
of available harbors. And it should be constantly kept in mind that the navigation 
of the troubled and tempestuous waters and the difficult currents of the Yucatan 
passage make necessary harbors of refuge wherever they may be found. 

CLIMATE OF THE ISLE OF PINES, PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS, ETC. 

The climate of the Isle of Pines is traditionally the most salubrious of the Antilles. 
Yellow fever, which has repeatedly scourged Cuba, is there unknown. Even in the 
darkest days of Spanish control no epidemic has ever visited its shores. Save for the 
narrow swamp of Lanier, which nearly divides the southern third of the island into 
a separate body, the ground is high and dry, averaging 100 feet above sea level. Two 
series of mountains, which hardly rise to the dignity of ranges, are found, beginning 
with Mount Diablo and the Sierra Caballos, of 981 feet elevation on the north coast, 
and continuing with Sierra Casas, of 945 feet elevation, extending to the west and 
south and in a southerly direction from Nueva Gerona. On the west side are the 
mountains of San Jose and Canada, rising to an elevation of over 1,500 feet, and as 
the interior is approached the ground rolls upward in gentle slopes from the coastal 
regions. These mountains are composed of limestone and marble, one of them, near 
the town of Nueva Gerona, containing marble pronounced by experts to be equal to 
the finest Carrara. This property is owned by a wealthy American, who believes that 
the island will remain under American control and permit him to develop this very 
valuable property. 

The temperature averages throughout the year a mean of 74° F. The extreme 
between the summer and winter months is barely 10° F. In July and August the 



234 ISLE OF PINES. 

temperature averages 78 to 82, seldom rising above the latter figure, and in December 
and January rarely falls below 70 or exceeds 74. The climate may be said to resem- 
ble that of Jamaica rather more than that of Cuba. The rainfall ranges from 56 to 
60 inches annually, not exceeding an average of 1 inch per month from November to 
May, the remainder falling from the latter part of May until October. It is charac- 
teristic of the island that continuous rainstorms, such as are known in the northern 
latitudes, are unknown, the rain falling in brisk showers of brief duration from which 
the sun emerges speedily into a clear sky. 

The porous nature of the soil quickly absorbs the rainfall. In consequence of this, 
of the high and rolling character of the ground, the proximity of the sea, and the 
presence of extensive forests of pine, the island has always maintained a high repu- 
tation as a health resort. The climate possesses none of the enervating character- 
istics of the Tropics, and the existence near Nueva Gerona of very famous mineral 
springs adds to the sanitary value of this region. These springs are of magnesia 
water, and have almost international reputation for the cure of stomach and intestinal 
difficulties, and particularly for the cure of rheumatism of certain types, which yield 
as if by magic to its treatment. 

Not alone in the pine regions around Nueva Gerona, but on the dry shores of Caleta 
Grande and the back lands of the Playa Larga do the most perfect conditions for the 
erection of sanatoriums prevail. Contrary to the description of the charts, the back 
country of Playa Larga is not low and swampy. On the contrary, it is dry, rocky, 
and salubrious, covered with high-ground vegetation of pine, mixed with large areas 
of mahogany and other hard woods. The trade winds of the upper Caribbean blow 
here with unfailing regularity. Malaria is unknown, yellow fever never had a foot- 
hold, and the pine areas are notable for their excellent effect on throat and lung dis- 
eases. With a view to the inevitable sicknesses which will attend the building of 
the Panama Canal and the prevalence of torrential rains and the consequent damp- 
ness of even the high grounds adjacent to Panama, it is absolutely imperative that 
the United States should own and control a suitable region at the nearest available 
point for the erection of sanatoriums for its working staff and forces. The Isle of 
Pines presents the opportunity which it would be worse than folly to throw away. 

Not merely in this aspect, but from many others, will the value of the Isle of Pines 
appear in connection with the building of the Panama Canal. Practically its whole 
area of a cultivatable character is admirably adapted for the raising of vegetables of a 
more or less perishable character, such as tomatoes, radishes, green pease, lettuce, egg- 
plants, and the large variety which now are found in the best markets. These can 
be raised there in every month in the year, and will do their share in maintaining 
the health of the thousands of employees at work upon the canal. The conditions 
which have for hundreds of years prevailed in the Isle of Pines under Spanish rule 
can only be mitigated under American control. Americans alone show either will- 
ingness'or capacity for developing its splendid resources, and they should be encour- 
aged by the maintenance of American sovereignty rather than prostrated by expatri- 
ation and an alien flag. 

It is a regretable fact that in the nearly two years which have passed since Cuba 
was given an independent government she has not placed upon her statute books one 
act of material importance to relieve the burden of obsolete Spanish laws which were 
her heritage. Real-estate transfers are still so costly and difficult that in small hold- 
ings the value of the property is more than cut in two by the expense of transfer. 
Under Cuban control the Isle* of Pines is doomed to come nearly to a standstill, when 
its importance to the United States will become more and more manifest and impera- 
tive with each passing year. 

Its seasons may be considered as three weeks in advance of those of Cuba, with a 
corresponding advantage in the raising of all the early vegetables and seasonable 
crops. Oranges come into bearing there in the short period of three years, as against 
five in Cuba, and through a careful study of market conditions the planters are 
bringing in varieties which will appear in the American market at a time when it is 
bare of this important fruit from other sources. In the region around Caleta Grande 
and Playa Larga the banana attains a perfection found nowhere else outside of Colom- 
bia, Honduras, and Jamaica. Cocoanuts are pronounced equal to the best San Bias 
variety, and in a few years' time promise to supply a large part of the American 
demand. One farmer in the vicinity of Caleta Grande raised over $2,000 worth of 
honey and wax this last year. 

All along the coast from Caleta Grande East abundant fresh water is obtainable 
from wells sunk within a few yards of the sea. It may be repeated that this is true 
of many of the keys adjoining the Isle of Pines and adjacent thereto. This fact, 
first given wide publicity by Baron von Humboldt, is borne out by present-day 
observations. At some points large springs of fresh water well up from the sea 
itself. 



ISLE OF PINES. 235 

There are no poisonous snakes in either the Isle of Pines or its adjacent keys, but 
one variety of serpent — the niaja— appearing, and that principally as a household pet, 
where its fondness for rats and mice marks its usefulness. In the low ground of the 
swamp of Lanier is found the American crocodile, and on land the tree-living iguana, 
a lizard the flesh of which Columbus pronounced to be the finest meat he found in 
America. On the Playa Larga and the adjoining keys are the best turtle beaches in 
the Caribbean, and through Siguanea Bay may be seen the few remaining specimens 
of the manatee or sea-cow, whose rapid extinction can be prevented only under Ameri- 
can control and through the medium of prompt restrictive legislation. 

FISHERIES. 

Considering the Isle of Pines and its adjacent keys as a geographical entity in view 
of the language of the treaty of Paris, the dividing line between the territorial waters 
of the United States and those of Cuba would presumably be placed along the chan- 
nels adjacent to the coast of Cuba from Cape Frances northwest to Hacha Channel, 
leading to Batabano, and thence by the channel west and south of Punta Gorda 
followed by the coasting steamers and traffic running between Batabano and Cien- 
fuegos. Within the waters thus inclosed as appertaining to the Isle of Pines and its 
adjacent keys lie the most valuable sponging grounds in the world. Their annual 
product is worth in excess of three million dollars a year, and the other fisheries of 
the same waters are only less in value from the restricted market which Cuba affords. 
Over forty varieties of edible fish are caught. Nearly two hundred vessels and some 
two thousand fishermen are employed in these industries, making Batabano their prin- 
cipal port. These men are almost exclusively Spaniards who have refused to take out 
•citizenship papers in Cuba, distrusting and disliking the Cuban Government. When- 
ever American control of these waters shall be asserted they will gladly come under 
the American flag, and from them can be recruited hundreds of men for the Amer- 
ican Navy — good sailors, hardy, distinguished by the racial sobriety of the Spaniard, 
and thoroughly acclimated to tropical waters. 

DISTANCE OF THE ISLE OF PINES FEOM CUBA. 

From Point Barcos to Point Carraguao, the two points of the Isle of Pines and 
Cuba most nearly approaching, lies a stretch of water over 30 miles in extent. This 
is as far as from the Florida coast across the Gulf Stream to the shores of the Great 
Bahamas. Twenty miles of this stretch is covered with water averaging 20 feet in 
depth. The nearest Cuban port, and the one from which the steamers ply between 
Cuba and the Isle of Pines, is Batabano, 70 miles distant. Channels characteristic 
of all these waters of sufficient draft for a considerable commerce lie to the north, 
east, and west of the Isle of Pines. Its geographical separation from Cuba is as dis- 
tinct as that between the Lesser Antilles, where islands of four nationalities are sepa- 
rated from each other by narrower passages than those between the Isle of Pines 
and Cuba. 

The statement, which is given credence in the report accompanying this treaty, to 
the effect that the Isle of Pines was abandoned by the Spanish as a penal colony 
because the convicts used to wade across to Cuba through the shallow waters is as 
absurd and apocryphal as the wild statements of early navigators in regard to lands 
of headless men and fountains of perpetual youth. 

Nueva Gerona, the principal port on the north side of the island, is situated 2 miles 
up the Casas River, which is in reality an estuary of the sea, having from 20 to 80 
feet of water in its channel. At its mouth is a bar carrying only 8 feet of water, but 
less than 150 yards of dredging will open this river to vessels of the largest size that 
can navigate the adjacent waters, say of 18 feet draft. 

Additional statement. 

The recent action of the American citizens, residents of the Isle of Pines, who 
have peacefully repudiated Cuban authority and started to set up a provisional gov- 
ernment for themselves as American citizens on American territory has been vari- 
ously denounced by many American newspapers as everything from opera bouffe 
and farce comedy to secession, revolution, and treason. It is perfectly evident that 
such denunciations proceed from ignorance on the part of the writers of the real facts 
and questions involved, and that they are based on the assumption that the Isle of 
Pines is a recognized part of the territory of the Republic of Cuba and that the 
Americans who have settled in the island have voluntarily gone to foreign territory 



236 ISLE OF PINES. 

and put themselves under Cuban sovereignty. If this were true, all the denuncia- 
tion and ridicule so abundantly poured out on them would be well deserved, but so 
far is this from being a true representation of their attitude that they maintain that 
they are only attempting to throw off the yoke of an illegal government which has 
been permitted by the neglect or connivance of a single department of the Govern- 
ment of the United States to usurp and exercise authority over territory in which 
they have settled, relying on the official assurance of other departments of the same 
Government that they were on American soil and under the protection of their own 
flag. They declare that they are not attempting to wrest from the Republic of Cuba 
a portion of Cuban territory, but that they are deeply concerned to prevent the 
abandonment of a valuable American possession for no consideration and for no suf- 
ficient reason that has ever been publicly disclosed. In view of the widespread 
ignorance on the subject, which the comments of the American press have disclosed, 
it may be well to recapitulate some of the reasons which are urged by those who 
contend that the Isle of Pines is and should be American territory. 

The treaty of Paris, signed December 10, 1898, reads: "Spain relinquishes all 
claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba." (Art. I) and (Art. II): "Spain cedes 
to the United States the island of Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish 
sovereignty in the West Indies." It will be observed that the relinquishment of 
sovereignty is specific and is limited to "Cuba," while the cession to the United 
States is general and includes all Spanish possessions in the West Indies other than the 
single island which was not ceded. It seems reasonable, therefore, to conclude that 
the Isle of Pines was included in the territory ceded to the United States, and that 
upon the ratification of the treaty the island became American territory. 

That this was the effect anticipated by the Spanish commissioners who signed the 
treaty is evident from a declaration made by them, contained in an annex to proto- 
col No. 9, presented at the session of the commissioners on October 21, 1898, which 
is as follows: 

"They (the United States) did claim sovereignty over the latter (Porto Rico) and 
over the other islands surrounding Cuba, which will render impossible the independ- 
ence of the latter (Cuba) without the good will and gracious consent of the United 
States, which will always have it at their mercy through their control over the islands 
wmich inclo.se it as in a band of iron." 

That such was also the opinion of the United States Government is proven by an 
official statement made by the War Department at Washington, dated August 14, 

1899, in reply to an inquiry as to the status of the Isle of Pines, which reads: 
"This island was ceded by Spain to the United States, and is therefore a part of our 

territory, although it is attached at present to the division of Cuba for governmental 
purposes. * * * and * * * the disposition of public lands must await the 
action of Congress." It will be observed that this official statement was made more 
than six months after the ratification of the treaty of Paris by the United States 
Senate. 

A further proof of the construction put by the American Government on the pro- 
visions of the treaty above referred to is furnished by the official maps issued by the 
Land Office at Washington, on which the Isle of Pines appears as American territory, 
exactly as Porto Rico, the Philippines, Hawaii, and the other insular possessions are 
represented. 

Moreover, it is well known and can be proven by unimpeachable evidence that the 
late Secretary Hay declared openly that he entertained no doubt that the Isle of 
Pines became an American possession under the terms of the treaty with Spain. 
Acting on this view, the Navy Department caused a careful examination to be made 
of the island and of the adjacent water to determine its availability for the location 
of an American naval station. 

Up to this point the actions of the United States Government with respect to the 
island were entirely consistent with the belief that it had become an American pos- 
session, and entirely inconsistent with any other theory of its relations with the 
United States. Many American citizens, entertaining no doubts as to the political 
status of the island, especially after the official assurance above referred to, pur- 
chased large tracts of undeveloped lands on the island, and many others went there 
as settlers to make their homes, as they supposed, under the protection of their own 
flag. 

No serious question seems to have been raised as to the ownership of the small 
island until after the Cuban constitutional convention met at Habana in November, 

1900. By that time the actions of American settlers and investors had given to the 
island a value which neither Cubans nor Spaniards had before assigned to it, and 
some of the Cubans began to protest against being deprived of what they claimed to 
have been always a part of Cuba, geographically and politically. Geographically 



ISLE OF PINES. 237 

the island is no more properly a part of Cuba than are the small British islands to 
the eastward, and politically it was only within recent years that it was brought 
within the sphere of the Spanish government of Cuba. There was a time when 
Cuba itself was only an appurtenance of the Spanish colonial government estab- 
lished in Santo Domingo. 

The first indication that the American Government was willing to entertain any 
doubt on the question is furnished by that part of the act of Congress of March 2, 
1901, which has gone into history under the name of the Piatt amendment. The 
most that Congress would concede, as shown by this action, was that the question 
should be left to be adjusted by treaty, after a Cuban Government had been estab- 
lished in Cuba, the island meanwhile being excluded from the constitutional 
boundaries of Cuba. The language of Congress is explicit: "That the Isle of Pines 
shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries of Cuba, the title thereto 
left to future adjustment by treaty." This provision, in identical language, was sub- 
sequently incorporated in the constitution of the Republic of Cuba. It is clear, there- 
fore, that until this positive enactment, which is a law in the United States and a 
constitutional limitation in Cuba, shall have been revoked or annulled by competent 
authority, the Isle of Pines remains outside of Cuban territory and beyond the juris- 
diction of the Cuban Government. It may be interesting to explain by what pro- 
ceeding it has come to pass that the Cuban Republic has been, for more than three 
years, exercising de facto control over a territory from which it is excluded by its 
own fundamental law and by an act of Congress of the United States, after the territory 
in question has been repeatedly publicly and officially declared to be a possession 
of the United States. 

From January 1, 1899, when Spanish sovereignty became extinct, possession and 
control of the Isle of Pines passed to the United States and continued to be exercised 
by the President of the United States, as Commander in Chief of the Army of the 
United States, through the military governors of Cuba, officers of the Army, up to 
May 20, 1902, on which date the then military governor, by authority of the Presi- 
dent, delivered the island of Cuba to the Cuban Government, which had been organ- 
ized under the provisions of the constitution above referred to, by which constitu- 
tion the Isle of Pines was excluded from the territory of Cuba. On May 16, 1902, 
the Secretary of War, at Washington, ordered his subordinate, the military governor 
of Cuba, in contemplation of the approaching establishment of the Republic of Cuba, 
with sovereignty over the island of Cuba, to continue "the present government of 
the Isle of Pines as a de facto government." At that time the "present govern- 
ment" of the smaller island was the military government under American authority, 
which had existed as such since Spanish authority had ceased on January 1, 1899. 
The only possible construction that can be put on the Secretary's order, in view of 
the provisions of the act of Congress and of the Cuban constitution, is that it was 
meant to insure the continuance of American control over the island until any ques- 
tion as to the ownership of it should be decided by treaty. Any other construction 
involves, necessarily, an assumption that a Secretary of War or a military subordi- 
nate can of his own motion set aside an act of Congress and also enlarge the consti- 
tutional limits of a foreign state. 

The order of the Secretary of War was, however, apparently ignored or disobeyed. 
No steps whatever were taken by the military governor to continue the American 
occupation and control of the Isle of Pines after May 20, 1902, and on that date it 
passed, together with the island of Cuba, under the control of the Cuban Govern- 
ment, which was inaugurated on that day. It is not necessary at present to discuss 
the motives or the purposes which brought about such an unexpected result. The 
Cuban Government, having been permitted to usurp authority over the island, has 
continued to exercise it ever since. 

That the usurped authority of the Cuban Government has not been acquiesced in 
by all of the Departments of the Government at Washington is also evident. The 
Treasury Department has distinctly refused to recognize the Isle of Pines as Cuban 
territory. The question arose on a shipment of goods from the island direct to 
Mobile, Ala. If the goods imported were of Cuban origin they would have been 
entitled to a reduction of 20 per cent from the schedule rate of the Dingley tariff. 
That reduction was claimed by the importer and was refused by the collector of cus- 
toms at Mobile, under instructions from the Department at Washington. It *was 
held that by an act of Congress the island was excluded from the boundaries of Cuba's 
territory. Its products could not be considered as products of Cuba and were there- 
fore not entitled to the reduction of duty granted to Cuban products by the terms of 
the treaty of reciprocity with Cuba. The duty was levied and paid at the full rate. 

Some action, however, was clearly required to bring the question to a close and to 
cover up the gap left open by the neglect or disobedience of the military governor. 

S. Doc. 205, 59-1 16 



238 ISLE OF PINES. 

To that end there was negotiated, in 1903, a treaty between the United States and 
Cuba, by the terms of which the former relinquished to the latter all claim to the 
Isle of Pines in consideration of certain naval stations which were granted to the 
United States by the Republic of Cuba. It is sufficient comment on the animus 
which moved the negotiation of such a treaty to call attention to the fact that the 
naval stations were already secured to the United States by the act of Congress of 
March 2, 1901, by the express provisions of the Cuban constitution, and by a sepa- 
rate treaty which had already been concluded with Cuba. It may be good diplo- 
macy to declare that a valuable right or possession is relinquished for a consideration 
which has been already received in another and separate transaction, but diplomacy 
was long ago denned as "the art of lying apropos." 

The treaty so negotiated has never been ratified by the Senate of the United States. 
The American citizens who have settled in the Isle of Pines and invested their sav- 
ings there, on the assurance of their own Government that they were on American 
soil and under American protection, have been unwilling to allow themselves to be 
betrayed and abandoned by the same Government after a change of policy for which 
no respectable reason or explanations have been made public. They have succeeded 
in preventing for more than two years the confirmation of a treaty the effect of which 
would be to deprive them of their birthright and hand them over to an alien govern- 
ment which, after more than three years' experience of its workings, has not gained 
their respect. That treaty may, after all, be ratified by the Senate, for the entire 
strength of the Administration at Washington has been, and no doubt will be, exerted 
to secure that end; but it will not be until every legitimate effort has been made to 
defeat it by those who will be most deeply injured by its success and until every 
effort has been exerted to make public as widely as possible the facts and motives 
which have seemed to make such a treaty desired by even a single representative of 
the Government of the United States. 



Statement by Capt. S. H. Pearcy. 

Washington, D. C, December IS, 1905. 

Dear Sir: I am the owner of a tract of land on the Isle of Pines, West Indies, and had 
occasion to visit the island during the past summer, where I remained several months 
looking after my property interests. A number of instances of maladministration 
and oppression on the part of the Cuban officials came under my observation during 
my stay there. The Cuban Government has appointed and sent over to the Isle of 
Pines one Captain Aredunda as captain of the port or collector of customs, and his 
administration of the office that he holds has been so oppressive, unjust, and arbi- 
trary as to make it almost impossible for American merchants and residents on the 
island to import goods from the United States with any degree of safety. 

This officer has been in the habit of confiscating shipments of merchandise that 
come to the island wherever the slightest mistake occurs in making out manifests or 
consular invoices. While I was there a merchant received 150 pounds of candy, 
valued at $15. The shipper at Mobile in making out his bill had made a slight cler- 
ical error, and put on the bill 2 buckets of candy, 150 pounds, when in fact there was 
5 buckets. The merchant called the collector's attention to the mistake in the bill, 
but placed the candy on the scales in the custom-house and weighed them and 
showed the collector that the weights and values were correct, and he admitted that 
it was a clerical error, but insisted that such mistakes were a grave violation of the 
law and seized and confiscated the goods. Another instance of this kind, where a 
gentleman had brought in a box of carpenter's tools weighing 27 pounds and containing 
a saw, brace and bits, square, and several other tools such as are used by carpenters. 
This lot of tools was seized and confiscated because the invoice did not specify the 
weights in pounds and ounces of each separate tool. 

These are only two instances, of which there are very many that come under my 
own notice. These articles and a great many others were advertised and sold by the 
collector while I was at Neuva Gerona, the sale taking place in the cartel, in the 
office of Captain Aredunda. There were not more than a half dozen Americans 
attended the sale, as they had to pass into the prison, where an armed guard was 
stationed at the door and a whole company of Cuban rural guards on the inside of the 
prison. These guards had evidently expected to buy up the large quantity of con- 
fiscated merchandise very cheap, as they frowned and scowled and tried to intimidate 
every American that made a bid for the goods. I talked to Captain Aredunda before 
the sale took place and protested against his methods and insisted that the Ameri- 
cans should have the right to correct any invoices where there was no effort made 



ISLE OF PINES. 239 

to defraud, all the goods being landed on the pier and carried right into the custom- 
house under his personal supervision; but he said he intended to confiscate any 
goods that were brought into the island where there were any mistakes in the 
invoices. He furthermore said that no American should bring a pocket handker- 
chief — no, not even a pin — to the Isle of Pines without paying duty on it. 

The Cuban authorities have been levying and collecting taxes upon property and 
privileges in the island, but have never spent as much as one dollar that I have ever 
heard of for the benefit of the people from whom they collect these taxes. 

Last April the bridge over the Cassas River fell in, and the people of the island 
applied to the alcalde to have it repaired. This bridge is on the road leading from 
Nueva Gerona, the port of the island, to Santa Fe and Columbia, and subjected the 
people to a great deal of inconvenience. The alcalde applied to the authorities of 
Cuba to get means to have the bridge repaired, but was told that there was no money 
available, although the Cuban Government had been collecting large amounts of 
money from the people. After making a number of unsuccessful attempts to have 
the Cuban authorities repair the bridge, the American residents got together and sub- 
scribed $400 or $500 to have the work done. They gave out contracts to the saw- 
mills to have the lumber sawed and delivered at the bridge at a given date, all the 
American residents agreeing to meet there and do the work themselves, when they 
were notified by the alcalde that if they dared to do the work they would all be 
arrested and thrown into prison, as it was a public thoroughfare, and could not be 
done without the permission or through the Cuban authorities, and demanding that 
they turn the money oyer to him and he would have the work done. The matter 
was finally compromised by the alcalde sending down a number of the rural guards 
with guns in their hands to superintend and boss the work that was being done by 
the Americans, who had furnished the money, the material, and the labor, not a 
single native contributing as much as 5 cents in work. 

These. Senator, are just a few instances of the Cuban abuse of power; but a great 
many others were witnessed by me, including the arrests of American citizens with- 
out cause, an account of which I will furnish you in another communication. 
I am, sir, yours, very truly, 

J. L. Peaecy. 

Hon. J. T. Morgan, United States Senate. 



"COMPLIMENTS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE OP THE ISLE OF PINES. 

Our schools were closed by Cuban officials because our teachers could not take 
■examination in the Spanish language. The above teachers were private teachers 
brought from the United States and their salaries paid by the Americans. The 
schools are taught in the Spanish language, which is a great drawback to our chil- 
dren. The teachers attend school at their leisure. The children — some of them — 
walk from 1 to 4 miles to school, and time after time are compelled to return home — 
no teacher there to open. the school. 

An instance in regard to the handling of their law: The Cuban law specifies that 
the owner of cattle shall keep same fenced. An American citizen located in the Isle 
of Pines, and his crops were being ruined by cattle continually breaking into his 
place. He corralled the cattle and preferred damages. The owner of the cattle was 
appointed as appraiser to appraise the damage done. He reported no damage done 
by his cattle. The damage was appraised by several Americans, who claimed $100 
damages to the property. Nevertheless, the American was instructed not to come 
before the court with any more complaints, and received no damages from the loss 
by the cattle. 

It is a common thing to see Americans thrown into the old Spanish prisons, and 
after spending all night there the officials have no charges to prefer, turning the 
Americans loose without the least explanation. Another American was put under 
arrest and taken 15 or 16 miles from his home and was repeatedly insulted because 
he refused to sign a paper written in Spanish, not knowing the nature of the docu- 
ment, which proved to be a subpoena as a witness in a trifling lawsuit. 

Another instance, in which an American bought a large tract of land; the natives 
owning the adjoining land on a certain appointed day established the dividing line, 
the lines being properly surveyed by a recorded engineer. This division line was 
disputed five years later by the above native, and the court of the Isle of Pines gave 
the said native permission to cut the timber from a large portion of the American's 
land, the said court not hearing the American's claim of ownership to said tract of 
land. At the present day this unlawful and unjust treatment continues to exist. 



240 ISLE OF PINES 

A case of arson a short time ago. An American brought a traction engine to the 
island. Unfortunately a spark from the smokestack set fire to a palm roof of a small 
house. The owner of the engine immediately went to the owner of said house and 
paid the damages and received a receipt in full. The officials not receiving their 
commission on account of the damages being settled out of court, the officers induced 
the native to move out of the house and prefer charges of arson. The American was 
compelled to pay $100 for his appearance at court. After repeatedly appearing and 
suffering the inconvenience of attending court the case was dismissed, but the money 
collected for his appearance at court was never returned. 

The disrespect shown the Americans at the burial of some of our people is enough 
to turn a man's heart into stone. They have hacked the bodies of some of our 
departed ones into pieces in the open cemetery before the eyes of men and women 
and little children, their dissecting tools being ordinary hatchets and carpenters' 
handsaws. In this case the body was that of a highly respected American, and the 
more the American friends pleaded with the officials the more pleasure it gave them 
to hack the body to pieces, which was a disgrace to civilization, and to show the offi- 
cials' bitter contempt of the Americans, while still another refined and feeble south- 
ern gentleman, of some 75 years, who had spent more than fifty years of his life in edu- 
cational work, was arrested, manacled, and thrown into prison for the alleged hein- 
ous crime of refusing to disturb or exhume the body of his aged and beloved brother, 
who had been buried in an American cemetery, which burying ground, unfortunately, 
had not been blessed and sanctified by the Holy Catholic Church. 

Knowing that this old gentleman had been reared in the South and was particu- 
larly sensitive as regards the color line and associations with negroes every effort 
was made by the Cuban officials to humiliate him — first by manacling him to a big 
burh' negro, and finally by giving him as a cell mate a depraved, profane, drunken negro 
woman of the very lowest type and another crazy negress with whom he was told to 
share his bed and pillow, but due to his early training, he preferred instead thereof 
the soft side of the filthy stone floor of the cell without either mattress or covering. 

The kind, charitable neighbors, Americans, who assisted at the interment of the 
old man's brother, in preference to suffering arrest and further prosecution, as they 
were threatened by the Cuban officials in charge, were compelled to exhume the 
body five days after death, and place it in the consecrated burying ground at Santa 
Fe, 9 miles distant. 

The undertaking was most horrible and ghastly. The remains, which had by this 
time been reduced to a liquid state, slushed out through the cracks in the rough pine 
box that was used as a coffin, covering the bed of the vehicle, and from there was 
distributed along the roadway, causing a flock of buzzards to follow in their wake for 
almost the entire distance. 

We have departed with several of our Americans on the Isle of Pines that we 
believe would be living to-day if they had been permitted to call our own American 
physicians. The officials will not permit us to call one of our doctors nor will they 
permit them to practice their profession. 

The Americans all over the islands are giving land and building roads, buying 
lumber for bridges and furnishing labor, which has cost us hundreds of dollars — this 
the Cuban Government refuses to donate — but when we attempt to drive over the 
roads which we have built and paid for, nevertheless they impose a tax of $5 to $15 
per annum for driving our teams over these same roads. 



Statement inclosed in the statement of Capt. H. S. Pearcy. 

Santa Kosalia Heights, Isle of Pines, W. I., 

November 19, 1904- 

Sir: Being one of the oldest American settlers on the Isle of Pines and having kept 
pace with the events and conditions occurring during the past four years, I have 
been requested by Mr. S. H. Pearcy and other prominent people here to prepare and 
send you a careful description of the island, its cilmate, health, soil, products, 
public improvements, population, social and political conditions, etc. 

A letter properly answering all of these questions and doing it anything like justice 
would naturally be long, which is my apology. 

This island, with an area of about l;200 square miles, is composed of land of a 
greatly diversified character. The southern part (which is almost separated by a nar- 
row body of water) abounds in all kinds of hard woods known to the Tropics, such as 
mahogany, ebony, Spanish cedar, etc., while the northern portion, which is especially 



ISLE OF PINES. 241 

adapted to the growing of all kinds of citrus and native fruits and vegetables, has the 
greatest variety of timber in its vast forests, such as cedar, fir, sabina, sabicu, ocuje, 
palms of every species, majagua, and many other tropical timbers, besides its im- 
mense pine forests of the very best quality of lumber pine, affording an ample supply 
of wood and timber for every imaginable domestic purpose. 

In every part of the island groves of the most edible and valuable tropical fruits 
are found growing in abundance, such as oranges, grape fruit, limes, lemons, man- 
goes, momeys, alligator pears, cocoanuts, guayabas, guanabanas, pineapples, bananas, 
etc. 

SEASONS AND CLIMATE. 

About the 1st of May what is generally designated as the "rainy season" begins. 
From this date until about November 1 there is a heavy rainfall every three or four days. 
While these rainfalls are heavy they do not last long — generally not more than an 
hour, alter which the clouds disperse — and although this is called the ' ' rainy season ' ' 
there is very little weather to interfere with agriculture or other out-of-door work. 
From November to May there are only occasional rains, but sufficient for crops of 
all kinds. 

The climate and weather is unsurpassed anywhere, and settlers from any part of 
the United States require no acclimatization. Hurricanes nor cyclones have ever 
been known to occur in the island, neither do the streams or rivers ever cause inun- 
dations. The mercury seldom goes above 90° nor below 60° F., and it can truth- 
fully be said that there is no winter nor summer, but a perpetual spring. In fact, 
for healthfulness and climate, there is no spot on earth which can be compared to the 
Isle of Pines. 

HEALTH OF THE ISLAND AND THE WATER. 

There are five navigable rivers and numerous small streams of the finest water to 
be found in the world, affording an ample supply of water for every purpose. 

In a pamphlet issued by the United States Government, entitled* " Military Notes 
on Cuba," on page 358 the following is found in dealing with the Isle of Pines: "As 
to health, the island has a high reputation, the inhabitants say that yellow fever has 
never been known, and the records of # the military hospital show an entire exemp- 
tion from this disease. Strangers who 'come here do not have to pass through the 
term of acclamatization usual in Cuba. The atmosphere seems drier and more brac- 
ing than that of Cuba, especially that of the northern coast, and it is also cooler. 
People in the island have a good appetite, and altogether it is said that there is not a 
more healthful spot on the globe than the Isle of Pines. The medicinal value of the 
mineral springs are acknowledged, and some authorities say that they are the best in 
the world for stomachic troubles. These springs contain iron and magnesia among 
their minerals and are of a high temperature, being healthful for bathing." 



There are three distinct varieties of soil, viz: A heavy dark loam along the ravines 
and rivers; a light mulato soil, mixed more or less with a line quartz near the foot- 
hills, and a coarse red gravel, underlaid with a fine yellow sandy subsoil on the 
ridges, similar to the soil found in the famous orange districts of California. 

PRODUCTS. 

Ninety per cent of the land surface is adapted to the raising of the most valuable 
tropical products. 

Oranges, grape fruit, limes, lemons, pineapples, cocoanuts, bananas, tobacco, and 
vegetables are being extensively planted, and produce a quality second to none 
anywhere in the Tropics. 

LIVE STOCK. 

When the Americans first came to the island it was occupied almost exclusively 
by native islanders engaged in stock raising, who kept constantly on the various 
estates no less than 50,000 head of stock. These natives had never made any effort 
to develop its resources, notwithstanding that many of them had grown wealthy by 
availing themselves of the natural products of the unimproved lands and the increase 
of their stock. Nature here has been so generous that the native has never found it 
necessary to work to gain a living or to develop his land, and it has been reserved 
for the American to develop this veritable garden spot of the world. 



242 ISLE OF PINES. 

MARBLE, MINES, AND MINERALS. 

This subject has been sadly neglected in me past and should be more thoroughly- 
investigated before any definite action is taken by our Washington Government. 

Former published reports on the Isle of Pines have been so erroneous and unre- 
liable that I regret that men capable of doing the subject justice have not visited 
the island to personally study the mineral and geological conditions, as they are 
worthy of more careful and thorough investigation. The United States geological 
experts who visited us some two years ago, if I remember rightly, spent just two 
days at the Isle of Pines. The first day they remained on board the steamer and the 
second day did actually walk clown the street three blocks distant from the steamer; 
yet these same men went back to Washington and furnished the Government with a 
report on the geological conditions and structure of an area embracing a territory 
nearly equal to that of the State of Rhode Island. Naturally, therefore, the report 
must have been based mainly on hearsay, and as a result was erroneous in many very 
important particulars. From this report the Department at Washington, the general 
public, and public men generally think, and have a perfect right to believe, that they 
are ascertaining the true facts and figures when they have occasion to refer to the 
same; yet this is how they were compiled. 

From various sources a limited amount of information has been gathered, and I 
feel confident that the same is accurate in so far as it goes. 

The only marble quarries which have been worked are two in the northern part 
of the island, near Nueva Gerona; the old quarries at Narmol, on the eastern side 
of the Sierra de Caballos, and the quarries on' the northern slope of the Sierra de 
Casas, opened in 1902. 

The former was opened in 1844 by Governor-General O'Donnell, of Habana, and 
was operated on an extensive plan; but owing to the fact that the Spanish Govern- 
ment looked upon the same with disfavor and saw fit to levy a heavy tax on the 
sand used in its working, the marble operations were finally suspended. 

These mines, which alone are capable of furnishing employment to 10,000 work- 
men for the next one hundred years, meaning the support of at least 50,000 people 
for the next three generations, after lying dormant for nearly three-quarters of a cen- 
tury, were purchased in 1901, with a view of working the mines on an extensive plan. 
Preliminary work had been begun, but was stopped on May 20, 1902, pending some 
definite action regarding our future government, as each and every one here believes 
that the owners' efforts would be just as much appreciated by the Cuban Eepublic 
as was Governor-General O'Donnell' s, in 1844, by the Spanish Government. These 
quarries contain a vein of white statuary marble, varying in thickness from 40 to 100 
feet from the point where it appears above the land level, rising rapidly along the 
side of the mountain to the southeast, and extend for a distance of 1,800 to 1,900 feet, 
the material very closely resembling the product of the famous Carrara quarries of 
Italy in quality and texture. Below the white marble lies a vein of white streaked 
with blue, which was much used in the old works for sawing into slabs, while above 
the vein of white is a thinner vein of pale blue and above this a cream color shading 
into pink toward the highest part of the deposit. All of the colors mentioned are of 
practically the same texture. 

The quarries of the Sierra de Casas Range contain almost inexhaustible quantities' 
of marble, admirably adapted to a great variety of ornamental works, the crystaliza- 
tion being somewhat coarser than that of the statuary marbles of the old mines, but 
the coloring and streaking is entirely different from anything found here or in the 
United States, the shades running from a clear white through dove, pale gray, and 
dark gray to almost a black, being very suitable and attractive when polished for 
various ornamental purposes; also many blotched and streaked marbles, which make 
beautiful contrasts when sawn into slabs. Both of these ranges of mountains, as 
well as the adjacent hills, are composed of marble of various qualities, nearly all of 
which is well suited for building and construction work, and being within easy 
reach of the sea, with an excellent harbor for vessels drawing 20 feet or less of 
water, would furnish abundant cargo for vessels, thereby immediately solving the 
transportation question, which is of deep interest to all. 

In addition to marble for export an excellent tenacious lime can be made from this 
same marble when properly burned. Brick and tile making was formerly a prosper- 
ous industry, the superior quality and great variety of clays, including kaolin, potter's 
fire, buff and red brick clays, rendering it possible to produce brick, tile, and pottery 
of almost any desired color and hardness. 

Copper, silver, and some traces of gold have been discovered, the latter assaying 
as high as $900 per ton, but its locators do not intend to spend their time, energy, 
and money in developing these industries and mines under the present form of gov- 
ernment, neither will they do so until Old Glory floats triumphantly and permanently 
above their heads. 



ISLE OF PINES. 243 

SPONGING AND FISHING. 

The best sponge fields around the West Indies are in the waters lying directly eas 
and west of the Isle of Pines, and from 75 to 80 vessels are engaged in this business. 
These vessels carry from 7 to 11 men each, the average cruise is from four to six weeks 
with an expense of $150 per vessel for provisions or from $10,000 to $12,000 per 
month, and the custom-house statistics show that sponges to the value of between 
$300,000 and $350,000 are exported each year. So far I have only referred to one 
industry, but naturally there are numerous others which would be developed, such 
as fishing, with which our streams, rivers, and coast abounds, green sea turtles, 
tortoise, charcoal, lumber, and others too numerous to mention. 

POPULATION. 

The present population is a mere bagatelle to what the island is capable of support- 
ing, and a matchless opportunity is thus afforded of planting a distinctively American 
colony in the heart of the West Indies, where the colored population is scarcely in 
evidence and the turbulent Cuban not known; in fact, the native element is entirely 
different, for here they are peaceable and industrious, being courteous to the last 
degree; they appreciate an American and are anxious to see them come, knowing 
that they bring work and prosperity to the island. 

The present population consists of about 1,000 natives — men, women, and children — 
with less than 350 men voters and 500 American voters, many of whom have their 
families here with them, while no less than 700 other Americans, who have more 
recently become interested, are having homes prepared and will be here soon with 
their families. 

CHURCHES. 

Prior to American colonization the entire population was Catholic; but now there 
are several American church organizations, with two Protestant churches on the 
island, and others will be built soon. 

SCHOOLS. 

The pride of every true American heart is the public schools, and although Prof. 
Alex. E. Frye and Lieutenant Hanna established here a splendid system of schools, the 
founders of the same would not recognize it were they here to-day. The Spanish- 
English school, about which so much talk was made in Washington, D. C, as having 
been established ' ' especially ' ' for the Americans, teaches only Spanish, and is in session 
but two and a half to three hours on such days of the week as the teacher feels so dis- 
posed as to be in attendance, and the school is conducted with the usual order and 
method that was characteristic of the old Spanish schools, the discipline and instruc- 
tion being so unsatisfactory as to cause Americans to withdraw their children from 
such schools and to employ, at their own expense, governesses and teachers wherever 
it is possible to do so. Already three American schools have been established on 
account of this deplorable state of affairs. 

PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. 

The only public improvements on the island is a turnpike, 17 miles in length, 
partly constructed by the United States Government of intervention, connecting the 
two old native towns of Santa Fe and Nueva Gerona, and continuing from the first- 
named place to a point near Jucara wharf on the east side of the island. 

On May 20, 1902, this Government road or turnpike was yet uncompleted, and, 
notwithstanding the fact that the present defacto government pledged itself to com- 
plete all public work that was commenced by the Americans, instead thereof the 
machinery, vehicles, tools, horses, and everything that could be got hold of which 
was being used in the construction of the same was immediately sold and not one 
dollar's worth of work has been done on the same since that date, although repeated 
applications and requests have been made that something be done, and now, owing 
to the neglect which it is receiving at the hands of the present incompetent govern- 
ment, the same is fast falling into a state of decay. 



The splendid and efficient customs regulations inaugurated by Col. Tasker H. 
Bliss has been relegated, modified, and changed to such an extent that little, if any, 
of the original system remains, and, instead of being able to get merchandise through 
the custom-house in one or two days, it now takes at least one or two weeks and in 
many cases from six weeks to three months. 



244 ISLE OF PINES. 

STRATEGIC. 

By a close study of any reliable map it can be seen at a glance that the Isle of 
Pines is located midway between Hampton Roads and the Isthmus of Panama and 
is our Government's nearest possession to the latter place. In the absence of thor- 
ough and competent investigation the commercial and strategic capabilities of the 
island have not heretofore been properly appreciated. The shallowness of the water 
has been described as a disadvantage. The fact of the matter, as is borne out by 
all reliable marine maps and charts, is that a much deeper channel exists along the 
north shore of the island than upon the opposite coast of Cuba. 

A fine anchorage of 24 feet of water, with a channel of 21 feet to the deep sea, lies 
within 2 miles of the principal settlements on the island.. A little dredging would 
transform Siguenea Bay, another splendid body of water, into a fine naval station 
within easy reach of the Panama Canal, while along the whole southern coast of 
the Isle of Pines a depth of from 75 to 100 fathoms may be found. 

The inclosed map, which has been very carefully prepared, shows a correct 
topography of the Isle of Pines, its inlets, bays, the depth of water through which 
the island can be approached, together with colorings showing the relative propor- 
tion of the island that is owned by Americans. 

Your attention is especially called to Siguanea Bay, located on the southwest coast 
of the island. In this bay we find a depth of 21 feet or more extending over an area 
of 20 square miles of water with an area of more than 10 square miles where the 
water is between 35 and 42 feet in depth. The two extreme points, French Cape 
and Buena Vista Point, are at a distance of some 14 miles; and about 9 miles SSW. 
of the Indian Keys we find 24 feet of water leading from the deep sea and reaching 
a maximum of 42 feet and running 17 miles eastward to within 1 mile of the mouth 
of the Arroyo Itabo, where there is 22£ feet of water. The proximity of this harbor 
to the Yucatan Channel, the route of all steamers going to and from Central and 
South America, and its nearness to the Isthmian Canal, which promises to be one of 
the greatest commercial gateways in the world, makes this bay and island of especial 
strategic value to the United States. 

This grand body of water, where all the navies of the world could congregate and 
go through their various maneuvers, where ample room, combined with a healthful 
climate and an inexhaustible supply of the very best water that can be found any- 
where, makes it an ideal place to establish a naval station and base of supplies on 
one of our own possessions, within easy reach of both the Atlantic and Pacific sea- 
coasts of the United States, which in the time of war would be a great advantage. 

Aside, however, from the material advantages which will accrue from the posses- 
sion of this island, we feel that the good faith of the United States is involved in a 
measure in its retention. Upon the practical assurance of such retention embodied in 
the ' ' Treaty of Paris, ' '.subsequent Congressional action and various private assurances 
given from time to time to home seekers, privately and in official documents, hun- 
dreds of citizens of the United States have secured homes on this island and hun- 
dreds of thousands of dollars in American capital has been invested here, until to-day 
more than four-fifths of the tillable area of the island is actually owned and con- 
trolled by its own citizens, who never have and never will silently submit to being 
ruled byan incompetent government, administering ancient and obnoxious laws, calcu- 
lated only to retard progress and check development, and were we forcibly annexed to 
the Republic of Cuba it would be simply selling into bondage the birthright and 
property interests of more than 1,200 of our own blood, which we trust and pray 
that our worthy Chief and honorable Senators and Congressmen will never permit. 

What we are in need of is to have Old Glory spiked permanently to the mast at 
the very earliest possible date, then this island instead of being a vast uncultivated 
wilderness and woodland (as it was when the Americans first came here) will be one 
of the greatest citrus and tropical fruit producing islands in the West Indies, supply- 
ing the markets of the United States with the fruits they so much want and have not 
the soil nor climate to produce, and the United States in turn can have a naval 
station, second to none in the world, in protection of and within easy reach of the 
Panama Canal, from which naval station both our Atlantic and Pacific squadrons in 
defense of our eastern and western seacoasts can be easily reenforced and furnished 
with supplies or repaired, which in the event of war would undoubtedly prove 
invaluable. 

Very respectfully, 

Charles Raynord. 

Hon. J. T. Morgan, 

United States Senate, Washington, D. C. 



ISLE OF PINES. 245 

Letter of A. Feels. 

Nueva Gerona, Isle of Pines, W. I., 

December 29, 1903. 
Dear Sir: As a former resident of Jasper County, Ala., and member of the First 
Alabama Volunteers during the late war, and therefore a constituent of yours, I take 
liberty in asking if you will not defend in the United States Senate the interest of 
myself and hundreds of other American citizens on the Isle of Pines. In the belief 
that, according to the Paris treaty and Piatt amendment, the island being United 
States territory, and having on several occasions received official assurance that Uncle 
Sam would retain the isle, I, with lots of others from all parts of the States, have 
invested and made our homes here, and we are trying to make this the prettiest and 
most valuable spot of equal size of Uncle Sam's acquisitions, and we earnestly pro- 
test against the expatriation of ourselves and the ruin of our property, which is 
threatened by the treaty surrendering the isle to Cuba. We do believe that the 
United States in giving Cuba freedom of Spanish misrule, establishing for them a 
government of their own, and granting her the reciprocity treaty, has done all Cuba 
could ask for and more than she will ever thank her for. 

Trusting that you will do all in your power to defeat above said treaty and thereby 
entitle yourself to the everlasting gratitude of hundreds of your fellow-citizens, I am, 
Yours, very respectfully, 

A. Feels. 
Hon. J. T. Morgan, 

United States Senate, Washington, D. C. 



Appendix C. 



Isle of Pines Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association. 

Isle of Pines, August 7, 1905. 
Editor Washington Post, 

Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir : On behalf of between 300 and 500 school children on the Isle of 
Pines, West Indies, I very respectfully submit a few facts which will serve to 
prove to you the deplorable condition into which the school system of this island 
under Cuban suzerainty has fallen, and in the interest of humanity will ask 
that you kindly compose a strong editorial based on these facts, in order that the 
people of the United States may not be ignorant of the true conditions existing in 
the most unhappy island, which, according to the " treaty of Paris," is United 
States territory. 

Before the United States Government intervention withdrew from Cuba, on 
May 20. 1902, Prof. Alex E. Freye and Lieutenant Hanna had inaugurated and 
established in Cuba, and also in the Isle of Pines, West Indies (an island lying 
60 miles south of Cuba, but which for convenience was under the military gov- 
ernor-general of Habana, Cuba, but was never without its own military gov- 
ernor), a system of schools second to none in the United States. 

In fact, that which seemed most advanced in any section of our Union was 
selected and made a part of the school system here. Old Spanish usages and 
customs were discarded and everything seemed promising, but unfortunately for 
us, and through either the error or corruption of Gen. Leonard Wood, formerly 
military governor-general of Cuba and of the Isle of Pines, the " de facto " gov- 
enment of the Isle of Pines was temporarily placed in the hands of Cuba until 
the status should be finally settled by future treaty, and notwithstanding the fact 
that Cuba promised to carry to completion all work commenced by the Ameri- 
cans and the fact that in 1905 no teachers were to be employed who could not 
speak, read, and write the English language, this arrangement has been entirely 
ignored, and since the above date matters have gone from bad to worse until 
now it is almost unbearable, and if one has children to send to school thes 7 are 
compelled to either employ private teachers or else allow the little ones of 
tender years to be placed under the influence of vulgar, uncouth, political 
hangers-on or office hunters whose sole aim is to collect the salary which the 
Government pays. 

One teacher who I have in mind who taught a school on this island the past 
year in a country district where the children were expected to come from 1 to 3 



246 ISLE OF PINES. 

miles to attend school averaged two days during each week during the period 
he was employed, and even at that, the school would open at any time in the 
day that it suited the teacher to arrive ; sometimes 9 a. m., 10 a. m., 11 a. m., 
12 m., and as late as 12.30 and 1 p. in., while the closing hours were always 2.30 
and 3 p. m. 

The habits, decorum, and language of this same teacher were something scan- 
dalous. He was ever with a cigarette in his mouth which he smoked inces- 
sently during school hours, and when he was hearing the classes recite and per- 
chance if he became vexed at one of the children would use the most vile lan- 
guage imaginable, which at times would put a livery-stable hand to shame. 
For instance, one day he became angry at one of the children and before the 

whole class of girls and boys called the boy " a dirty of a water-closet," 

and said that " his father was a dog, his mother a , and his brothers and 

sisters together with himself were sons of ." 

At another time, being vexed about his bicycle which had broken down, spoke 

out before every scholar in school, both boys and girls, saying, " 

this son of a of a bicycle, the dirty thing is always broke ; " 

while at another time when he was hearing a class in English he spoke to the 
little children about the terrible mistakes that a Cuban once made, who was not 
familiar with the English language, and speaking before the entire class of 
pupils, ranging in ages from 6 to 14 years, said that " this Cuban was in a hotel 

in the States, and being in need of a sheet asked the clerk for a , and was 

told to go to the water-closet," and supplemented the story with a hearty pro- 
longed laugh, evidently thinking it a good joke and very likely congratulating 
himself on being entertaining and witty, after which he pointed to a screw and 
nut in one of the school desks and said that " the names of these articles in 
English were also very bad," and placing his hands on his own privates and by 
a motion with his hands and fingers explained to those little ones what it 
meant in English. 

The above and many other equally as bad and even worse samples of conduct 
are committed and of daily occurrence, which we and our children, as freeborn 
citizens of the United States, living on an island which, according to the " treaty 
of Paris," is unquestionably United States territory, are compelled to submit to 
through the error of one corrupt official act or mistake, both of which are 
unpardonable, and we now ask that the American people be apprised of the true 
conditions and demoralizing effect caused thereby, with the end in view that the 
school system of the Isle of Pines be immediately reorganized and placed under 
American control. 

Owing to the extreme vileness and polluteduess of the facts and information 
contained in this letter, I would much prefer that my name not be connected 
therewith, although if it need be I will stand by and either privately or publicly 
prove and defend each and every statement contained herein. 
Respectfully, 

Charles Raynaud. 



Lemon City, Fla., February 10, 1904- 
To whom it may concern : 

I was born at New Harmony, Ind., December 19, 1846, and am therefore at 
the present time 57 years old ; am a teacher by profession and a student of the 
Illinois State Normal University. 

In June, 1902, I removed to the Isle of Pines, supposing that it was and for- 
ever would be American territory, and I still feel that I was warranted in that 
supposition. 

I bought property (real estate) there and paid for it in full and perfected the 
title and improved the place, with the intention of remaining an actual, per- 
manent settler and a good citizen. 

Soon after I arrived in the island I was in Nueva Gerona, and had a gun in 
my wagon — a double-barreled shotgun — when an officer approached me and 
offered to put me under arrest, saying that it was unlawful for me to carry a 
gun and that I would have to pay a fine for so doing. I told him that I did not 
believe that it was unlawful, but thought it an attempt to extort money wrong- 
fully, and that I would not submit to arrest unless he would show proper author- 
ity, but if he would procure a warrant from any duly authorized officer that I 
would accept service and stand trial and make a test case of it. He then started 



ISLE OF PINES. 247 

off, ostensibly for a warrant, but never returned, and nothing more was beard 
of it. I saw the officer frequently after that, but he would only shake his head 
and smile sheepishly and say, " malo hombre " (bad man). 

Another time in the same town an officer attempted to make me pay tax on a 
farm wagon, claiming that it was a vehicle for pleasure riding. I begged leave 
to decline in this case, when the officer turned away saying (in Spanish), " Damn 
the Americans ; I am tired monkeying with them ;" but the case was dropped, 
and nothing more came of it. 

At another time the tax collector came to collect taxes from one Mr. Coen, 
the merchant at Columbia, and I was called on to interpret for them. Mr. Coen 
kept a grocery store, but kept a few hoes and rakes as well, so the collector 
tried to tax him double — i. e., for the grocery store and a hardware store also. 
The merchant paid one tax and the matter was dropped. 

I am satisfied that the authorities on the Isle of Pines frequently demand of 
merchants what they know is not right, and if the victim sees fit to pay it the 
rogue will take it, but if not, the officer (in name only) dare not press his de- 
mand. 

This manner of procedure has the effect to shake the faith of the Americans 
in the executive department of their Government, at least, for we have no way 
of knowing when their claims are pretended — whether it is done in good faith or 
not — so we are forced to the conclusion that the only sure test is to try them on. 

This is the light in which I viewed the situation when the following circum- 
stances occurred : On the 24th of July, 1903, my brother died at Columbia, Isle 
of Pines, and I had him buried in the American cemetery at that place. The 
next day after the burial one Judge Mias called on me and told me that it was 
unlawful to bury anyone there and that I must take up the remains and bury 
them in the cemetery at Santa Fe, adding that I must have them there at Santa 
Fe by 5 o'clock the next morning, and it was then nearly 8. He said further that 
the penalty was a fine, the minimum limit of which was $31- and the maximum 
limit was $93. I did not believe this, so declined to comply, when the judge 
lost his temper and after a lot of loud talk ordered his teamster to drive 
away. The next day he returned with four or five rural guards and a mounted 
police or two, all armed. I was then arrested and taken to Nueva Gerona and 
placed in prison, and I understand that the remains of my brother were removed 
by order of the judge. 

I was heavily guarded while there, but no particular incivilities were shown 
me except once when I attempted to walk the corridor for exercise. I was 
ordered to the rear part of the prison and told to keep quiet in a very unkind 
and arbitrary manner ; the mosquitoes were bad, however, and no means of 
protection was afforded for me, though the guards, so far as I could see, were 
all protected. 

When I first went there I was informed that I would be taken to Cuba on the 
first steamer for trial, but about the third or fourth day afterwards the same 
Judge Mias visited the prison and held a long conversation with the sergeant 
of the guards, and after that I was informed that I would go on a schooner at 
an earlier date. 

On the morning of the fifth day I was taken to the landing and embarked on a 
charcoal boat which was small, heavily loaded, and very uncomfortable, having 
no cabin or shelter except a small place in the hold, which was so hot no one 
could stay there, and it rained during the trip and we were obliged to lie on the 
coal sacks in the rain. We were two days and one night in this condition and 
were fed principally on crayfish. Landing at Bolobano, we took the train for 
Bejucal, and on entering the car one of the guards assigned me to a seat with a 
negro, but I preferred to stand. " Sientity." exclamed the guard, with a grin 
of satisfaction, but I did not feel tired just then and remained standing. 

Arriving at Bejucal I was placed in jail, and my heroic guards who had ac- 
companied me from Nueva Gerona disappeared. I was shown a large, filthy 
cell, infested with vermin and festooned with cobwebs, containing a dirty cot 
and without pillow or cover of any kind, and an old chair. The cell was already 
occupied by a Cuban woman of ill fame and unsavory odor, who had been placed 
there on a charge of drunk and disorderly conduct. She was very kind at first 
and proposed that I furnish coffee and tobacco for the pair of us, but when I 
failed to comply she became somewhat estranged and dignified, and for the 
remainder of our sojourn she was decidedly uncompanionable, but she insisted 
on lying on the cot with me at night, and I was a little at a loss to know what 
particular rule of etiquette to apply in this case ; the cot was large and roomy, 



248 ISLE OF PINES. 

however, and she was about the size of a jackrabbit, so she did not occupy a 
great deal of room nor annoy me very much, but this period of bliss was of short 
duration, as the fragrant animal was released the next morning and I saw her 
no more. 

On the morning of the fourth day I was taken before the judge for trial, an 
interpreter was brought in and I was told to state my case, which I did, but 
I do not believe it was understood, for the so-called interpreter seemed to have 
a very limited knowledge of English, as he could not or did not utter a single^ 
sentence in English correctly, but the judge convicted me, apparently, on gen- 
eral principles. I was sentenced to thirty-one days' imprisonment including the 
time since T was arrested, so I was taken back to do the rest of my time. Later 
on I had another cell mate in the person of a crazy negro woman, who was at 
once the filthiest and noisiest specimen I have ever seen. She annoyed me very 
much, and I would have liked to have had her removed, but I suppose she was 
put in my cell on purpose to humilate me, and in that case, of course, any request 
for her removal would have been denied, and, besides, I had resolved to ask no 
favor, and I am glad now that I kept my resolution, for in that way I at least 
deprived them of the pleasure of refusal. 

I had the pleasure and honor of the company of my colored female chum for 
about a week, when she was taken to the lunatic asylum. 

I was released on the 27th of August, exactly one month after my arrest, and 
thinking that I had an action against the Cuban Government for false imprison- 
ment, I went to Habana to see United States Minister Squiers concerning the 
matter. I found Squiers cold and forbidding in manner, but I stated my case 
briefly, telling him that I thought I had an action against the Cuban Govern- 
ment, and if so, I wished to make the most of it, and if not, I wished to know 
it, and that I had come to him for advice. He told me that I had no case, and 
that I had better get out of the country, and handed me a dollar in Spanish 
silver. 

I took his dollar, and after I got to the United States I sent him its equivalent 
in United States currency, and now have his receipt for the same. 

Eugene Lee. 

Mr. Charles Raynaud, 

Secretary American Society, Isle of Pines, West Indies. 



49 Broadway, New York, December 23, 1903. 
Mr. Frank: T. Mason. 

28 Green Street, New York City. 
My Dear Mr. Mason : I beg to hand you a copy of a letter just received from 
Secretary Root, in reply to an inquiry which I made of him upon receipt of 
your letter of December 15, seeking to ascertain from him why the War Depart- 
ment had conveyed the impression to yourself and others that the Isle of Pines 
belonged to the United States. This matter now, of course, is pending before 
the Senate in the form of a treaty, and I can only say that I shall give such con- 
sideration to the matter as I properly can. 

Very truly, yours, T. C. Platt. 



War Department, 
Washington, December 18, 1903. 
My Dear Senator : I return Mr. Mason's letter which you inclosed in yours of 
the 17th. I never advised prospective purchasers of property on the Isle of 
Pines, but when the subject was first brought to me, early in 1900, I directed a 
reply to be made to all inquiries that the question of the status of the Isle of 
Pines was one which it was not the province of the War Department to answer. 
I have since learned that a former Assistant Secretary of War had previously, 
without my knowledge or authority, directed an Assistant Adjutant-General to 
say that the island belonged to the United States. I never thought so. It had 
been for several centuries, in common with the hundreds of other islands sur- 
rounding the coast of the mainland of Cuba, included in the political division of 
the Spanish Kingdom known as Cuba. It had long been a part of the province 
of Habana, which was a political division of Cuba. I think it was included 
under the term of " Cuba " as used in the treaty of Paris, and, therefore, not in 



ISLE OF PINES. 249 

the description " Porto Rico and other islands." I think at the time the treaty 
was made it was as much a part of Cuba as Nantucket is a part of Massachu- 
setts. 

I also think, however, that the Americans who settled in the island could not 
be expected to know whether it was a part of the duty of an Assistant Secretary 
of War to decide or make representations about the title of the island, and that 
they have a strong equitable claim to have our Government take special pains 
to see that their rights are protected. 

Yours, very truly, Elihit Root, 

Secretary of War. 
Hon. T. C. Platt, 

United States Senate. 



Senate of the United States. 
Committee on Relations with Cuba. 

Washington, Conn., November 5, 1902. 

J. C. Lenney, Esq., New York. 

My Dear Sib : I have your favor of the 3d instant. I can not answer it at 
great length. 

I think it is a very fair question as to whether the cession of " Porto Rico 
and other islands " embraces the Isle of Pines. I have always maintained that 
it did, although I recognized the force of the other contention. There are a 
great many islands adjacent to Cuba which it is acknowledged go with Cuba. 
The Isle of Pines is larger than any of the others and situated farther from 
Cuban shores, and I have never been able to see what other island or islands 
the treaty referred to. but the Cuban people have claimed that it was always 
within the administrative jurisdiction of Cuba and belonged to Cuba the same 
as other adjacent islands ; consequently, when preparing the amendment to the 
army bill, which has come to be known as the " Platt amendment," I inserted 
a clause to the effect that the title should be subject of treaty negotiations. I 
feel that it is of the utmost importance that it shall be ours. It will give us the 
most advantageous point from which to defend the entrance of the isthmian 
canal. I supposed, when I provided that it should be the subject of treaty ne- 
gotiation, that unless we could satisfy the Cuban Government that it passed 
to us in the cession, that it would come to us by purchase, and that is still 
my belief. But for the present, with the consent of this Government, I think 
it is in the possession of Cuba with its title still undetermined and awaiting 
the making of the treaty, the negotiations of which seem to proceed very slowly. 
Some people seem to think that Cuba will not make the treaty which it agreed to 
in accepting the provisions of the amendment. I do not entertain any such 
doubt, but, like all diplomatic proceedings, it will probably take time and more 
time than may be agreeable. 

I have had no information from .President Roosevelt that he desired me to 
be present on the 10th of November, though I should suppose that if any serious 
consultation were to be had at which Senators were to be present I would be 
notified. 

Yours, truly, O. H. Platt. 



Department of State, 
Washington, November 21, 1905. 

Deae Sir : I have received your letter of October 25, in which you say : 
" Kindly advise me at your earliest convenience the necessary procedure to 
establish a Territorial form of government for the Isle of Pines, West Indies, 
United States of America." 

It is no part of the duty of the Secretary of State to give advice upon such 
subjects. I think it proper, however, to answer your inquiry so far as it may 
be necessary to remove an error under which you appear to rest concerning the 
status of the Isle of Pines and your rights as residents of that island. 

There is no procedure by which you and your associates can lawfully estab- 
lish a Territorial government in that island. The island is lawfully subject to 
the control and government of the Republic of Cuba, and you and your associates 
are bound to render obedience to the laws of that country so long as you remain 
in the island. If you fail in that obedience, you will be justly liable to prosecu- 



250 ISLE OF PINES. 

tion in the Cuban courts and to such punishment as may be provided by the laws 
of Cuba for such offenses as you commit. You are not likely to have any 
greater power in the future. The treaty now pending before the Senate, if 
approved by that body, will relinquish all claim of the United States to the Isle 
of Pines. In my judgment the United States has no substantial claim to the 
Isle of Pines. The treaty merely accords to Cuba what is hers in accordance 
with international law and justice. 

At the time of the treaty of peace which ended the war between the United 
States and Spain, the Isle of Pines was, and had been for several centuries, a 
part of Cuba. I have no doubt whatever that it continues to be a part of Cuba, 
and that it is not and never has been territory of the United States. This is 
the view with which President Roosevelt authorized the pending treaty, and 
Mr. Hay signed it, and I expect to urge its confirmation. Nor would the rejec- 
tion of the pending treaty put an end to the control of Cuba over the island. A 
treaty directly contrary to the one now pending would be necessary to do that, 
and there is not the slightest prospect of such a treaty being made. You may 
be quite sure that Cuba will never consent to give up the Isle of Pines, and that 
the United States will never try to compel her to give it up against her will. 

Very respectfully, 

Elihu Root. 
Charles Raynard, Esq., 

President of American Club of the Isle of Pines, West Indies. 



APPENDIX D. 

To His Excellency Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, the honorable President of the 
United States, the honorable United States Senators, and the honorable 
Congressmen of the United States, Washington, D. C. 

Sirs : In view of the fact that the future of the Isle of Pines and the citizen- 
ship and property interests of more than 2,000 Americans will' be under con- 
sideration and possibly decided by our worthy Executive and the present 
assembling Congress, I beg to submit for your kind consideration the following 
facts and reasons why the Senate should refuse to ratify the pending " Isle of 
Pines treaty," wherein, for an imaginary consideration, it is proposed that the 
United States shall cede the Isle of Pines to the Republic of Cuba. 

First. Because the Isle of Pines is and has been officially acknowledged to be 

United States territory. 

The " treaty of Paris," carefully drawn and, following Spanish official usage, 
discriminated between the " island of Cuba," " Porto Rico," and " other islands in 
the West Indies." 

Over the " island of Cuba " Spain, by treaty, " relinquished all claims of 
sovereignty and title," " Porto Rico," and "Other islands in the West Indies " 
(of which the Isle of Pines was one) were "ceded to the United States," as is 
clearly shown by the fact that President McKinley (who was at the head of the 
Executive Department of our Government when the " treaty of Paris " was 
signed and ratified) gave specific instructions that the Isle of Pines should be 
noted upon the large cession map of the United States that shows the different 
acquisitions of public domain to our country, from the various sources through 
which we derive original title, and decreed that the Isle of Pines should be, 
placed there as inuring to the United States under the " treaty of Paris." 

Again, both the Government of the United States and the Government of the 
Republic of Cuba fully and freely recognized, and through their respective 
representatives officially acknowledged, the " Isle of Pines " to be United States 
territory when their plenipotentiaries drew up and signed -the present " Isle 
of Pines treaty," wrerein the United States proposes to cede the Isle of Pines 
to the Republic of Cuba. If the title of the Isle of Pines was not vested in 
the United States, certainly our country could not cede it to Cuba. 

Second. Because the Constitution of the United States does not permit of any 
part of its domain being ceded by treaty. 

Careful investigation fails to discover an instance on record where the United 
States, by treaty, has ever ceded to a foreign government any part of its terri- 



ISLE OF PINES. 251 

tory ; the only guide or precedent that is obtainable requires the joint action 
of both houses of Congress and a vote of the people residing in the territory 
(that it is proposed to cede) before the President can transfer title. 

Third. Because the Americans now own the major portion of the island and were 
officially informed that the Isle of Pines was United States territory. 

The Isle of Pines is to-day almost entirely owned by Americans. More than 
2,000 bona fide purchasers have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for their 
homesteads, which they are clearing and making ready for planting, many of 
whom were induced to invest after receiving official and other assurances, 
given from time to time, assuring them beyond doubt that the Isle of Pines 
was United States territory. 

Gen. Leonard Wood, while acting in his official capacity as military governor- 
general of Cuba and of the Isle of Pines did, on the 17th day of April, 1902, 
personaly assure a committee of representative Americans from this island (who 
had already invested hundreds of thousands of dollars of American capital 
here believing the island to be unquestionably United States territory) "that 
they need have no fear regarding the future of the Isle of Pines," and " advised 
them to go ahead as they had been doing in the past," " that their interests 
would be fully conserved," giving them to understand positively that the Isle of 
Pines was and would always remain United States territory. 

On August 10, 1899, Mr. George Bridges wrote to the War Department as 
follows : 

" I am seeking information respecting the Isle of Pines. Does it come in as 
Porto Rico or under the same conditions as Cuba? I expect to go there in 
November, and for this information I would thank you in advance." 

The War Department, under date of August 14, 3899, replied as folohvs : 

" Replying to your communication of August 10th instant, soliciting informa- 
tion respecting the Isle of Pines, I am directed by the Assistant Secretary of 
War to advise you that this island was ceded by Spain to the United States and 
is therefore a part of our territory, although it is attached at present to the 
division of Cuba for governmental purposes. A copy of the Isle of Pines 
pamphlet is inclosed for your information, and you are advised that the disposi- 
tion of public lands must await the action of Congress. 
Very respectfully, 

John J. Pershing, 
Assistant Adjutant-General. 

This was accepted as sufficient proof that the Isle of Pines had been ceded by 
Spain to the United States. 

The War Department, which had administrative control at that time, declared 
that it was " a part of our territory," and relying upon this and other statements 
we brought our families here to live, and made improvements precisely as we 
would have done had we removed to any other territory belonging to the United 
States. 

Fourth. Because of the agricultural, mineral, and submarine wealth. 

The Isle of Pines is wonderfully rich in natural resources. Ninety per cent 
of its land surface will produce all of the most valuable tropical fruits, tobacco, 
and vegetables. Its mines contain an inexhaustible supply of the very finest 
kind of statuary and ornamental marble, while the sponging and fishing indus- 
tries in the adjacent waters yield annually between $500,000 and $1,000,000. 

Fifth. Because of its strategic position, nearness to the Isthmus Canal, and. 
peculiar advantages as a point to establish a naval station and base of 
supplies. 

Siguanea Bay, with its many strategic possibilities, spacious and perfectly 
land-locked harbors, and located as it is directly on the Yucaton Channel, 300 
miles nearer the Panama Canal than either of the coaling stations in Cuba, to- 
gether with our delightful and healthful climate and pure water, makes this bay 
and island an ideal place to establish a naval station and base of supplies, in pro- 
tection of the Isthmus Canal and for the convenience of both our Atlantic and Pa- 
cific squadrons, which in time of war would undoubtedly prove invaluable. And 
in view of the fact that England is strongly fortifying her Jamaican possessions 



252 ISLE OF PINES. 

and establishing there a base of supplies, that France is actively at work 
strengthening her islands in the West Indies, and that Germany is watching 
and guarding a couple of neighboring possessions with jealous and greedy 
intentions, it would seem that the situation is at least worthy of careful study 
and thorough investigation. 

Sixth. Because of the extraordinary opportunity of the United States to estab- 
lish a model government in the Isle of Pines and demonstrate to the world 
what an energetic, economical, and model government can accomplish in the 
Tropics. 

In the Isle of Pines the Government of the United States is afforded a match- 
less opportunity of planting a distinctly American colony in the very heart of 
the West Indies, which would be an example and a lasting object lesson for 
the neighboring Latin Republics of Central and South America. 

Seventh. Because nine-tenths of the inhabitants of the Isle of Pines are Ameri- 
cans who own more than five-sixths of the tillable area of the island. 

The Americans on this island (including these natives who were residing 
here and became citizens of the United States when the " treaty of Paris," 
which ceded the Isle of Pines to our country, was ratified) number fully nine- 
tenths of the inhabitants of this island who, under the present regime, never 
were and never would be content with Cuban rule, as the old Spanish custom 
of representation and of dealing out political plums is indulged in as faith- 
fully to-day as it was during colonial days, and instead of giving the position 
to a respected resident of the community it is given to some " carpet bagger " 
from the island of Cuba, usually some liberator, or a favored son of a Cuban, 
or a Cuban politician, whose greatest interest in his office is in the salary that 
he draws from the Government, and who rarely understands or appreciates the 
needs of the people he serves. 

Under these circumstances, laws that would be advantageous to us would 
not be enacted by Cuba or Cubans, and laws that might be acceptable to them 
would be more than two hundred years behind the times, and with the land in 
the hands of the Americans who would have nothing whatever to say about the 
administration, etc., endless complaint and repeated international complications 
would surely be the result. 

Eighth: Because the Piatt amendment and the Cuban constitution are disre- 
garded and American residents forced to pay unlawful duties and, taxes. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the Piatt amendment and the constitution of 
the Republic of Cuba both plainly state that the Cuban laws shall not extend 
to the island of Pines, yet that Government is to-day openly and defiantly 
violating both of these acts by attempting to apply and enforce recently enacted 
Cuban laws on the American residents and property owners in this island, 
which compels them to pay additional and excessive duties on goods coming 
from the United States. While the custom officials in the United States refuse 
to recognize the Cuban reciprocity act on the grounds that the Isle of Pines is 
not Cuban territory, and the above-mentioned Cuban officials are further at- 
tempting to violate the above acts by enforcing the collection of Cuban revenue- 
stamp taxes, and most unjust and unreasonable of all is the latest attempt to 
enforce in the Isle of Pines a recently enacted Cuban law which adds 30 
per cent to all taxes, licenses, fines, and duties, etc., that are collected, the 
proceeds of which are to create a fund for the Cuban liberators, to whom so 
many millions have already been paid, while not a cent of these excessive reve- 
nues, taxes, and duties so unlawfully collected from the American residents and 
property owners of the island of Pines during the last four years has been 
expended on this island. Our roads are neglected, bridges rotting, and public 
work suspended. 

Ninth: Because homesteaders think the good faith of the United States is in-_ 
volved in retention, and tvill not silently submit to being sold of bartered like 
so many cattle or swine and being ruled by an inferior people. 

Aside, however, from the various phases of the question mentioned above, we 
feel that the good faith of the United States is involved in a measure for its re- 



ISLE OF PINES. 253 

tention, for upon the practical assurance of such retention embodied in the " treaty 
of Paris," subsequent Congressional action, and various assurances given from 
time to time to home seekers privately and in official documents hundreds 
of citizens of the United States, believing the Isle of Pines to be unquestionably 
United States territory, have secured homes on this island and hundreds of 
thousands of dollars in American capital have been invested here until to-day 
its citizens own and control more than five-sixths of the tillable area of the 
island, who never have and never will silently submit to being ruled by an 
inferior race of people, administering ancient and obnoxious laws calculated 
only to retard progress and check development, and were we forcibly annexed 
to the Republic of Cuba it would simply be selling into bondage the birthright 
and vested property interests of more than 2,000 of our own people, which we 
trust and pray that our worthy Executive and honorable lawmakers will never 
permit. , 

If the Isle of Pines is ceded to Cuba, it will surely prove a curse to her — 
Cuba needs money; she does not want a hostile island possession. No Ameri- 
can community will long endure the outrageous exactions of corrupt Cuban 
officials, such as they are continually subjecting us to here. The native resi- 
dents of the Isle of Pines are friendly, peaceable, and industrious ; being cour- 
teous to the last degree. They appreciate an American and are anxious to 
see them come, knowing that they bring work and prosperity to the island, 
while the officials who were sent here from Cuba, including the rural guards 
and about one dozen families, comprise the sum total of Cuban citizens that 
are on the Isle of Pines to-day, and it is those latter who dislike the Americans, 
realizing, as they do, that sooner or later they must give up their lucrative 
positions and go back to Cuba, which is the sole reason for their bitterness 
toward Americans. For instance, only a short time ago a traction engine, 
owned by an American, was passing along the road, when a native house acci- 
dently caught fire from sparks from the engine. The damage was promptly 
paid, and a receipt taken in full from the owner. Several days afterwards the 
Cuban officials learned of the accident, induced the owner to move out of the 
house, and preferred a charge of " arson " against the engineer, apparently 
for no other reason than to obtain the fees and expenses which they get for 
making arrests, attending court, and incidentally to make it as unpleasant as 
possible for the hated American, for after causing him to pay more than $100 
in fines, expenses, etc., the case was dismissed, but no money was refunded. 

Another American was scandalously insulted, maltreated, arrested, and 
taken more that 20 miles, simply because he refused to sign his name to a docu- 
ment written in Spanish, without first having the same translated, so as to 
know what he was signing. Also, one of our most honorable and respected 
citizens was found dead. His body was taken to the cemetery and, in the open 
graveyard, the sun pouring down in all its magnificent splendor, with only 
a cloud now and then to hide its shamed face, and in full view of the whole 
populace of more than 500 people — men, women, and little children — the officers 
of the law, regardless of protests and pleadings from the dead man's friends, 
denuded the corpse of every vestige of clothing, and with an ordinary carpen- 
ter's handsaw, chisel, and hatchet, proceeded to perform what was supposed 
to have been an autopsy. The chopping and pounding of the hatchet and chisel 
to break and sever the bones, and the working of the handsaw in the act of 
sawing off the top of the head, which was done after the manner of sawing 
cordwood, caused the cold chills to chase one another up and down our spinal 
columns in rapid succession, notwithstanding the fact that the thermometer 
stood at 80° F., the evident purpose and intention being to desecrate the dead 
and to openly insult the Americans, who were horrified at the ghastly sight 
and proceedings ; while still another refined and feeble southern gentleman, of 
some 75 years, who had spent more than fifty years of his life in educational 
work, was arrested, manacled, and thrown into prison for the alleged heinous 
crime of refusing to disturb or exhume the body of his aged and beloved 
brother, who had been buried in an American cemetery, which burying ground 
unfortunately, had not been blessed and sanctified by the Holy Catholic Church. 
Knowing that this old gentleman had been reared in the South and was par- 
ticularly sensitive as regards the color line and association with negroes, every 
effort was made by the Cuban officials to humiliate him, first, by manacling him 
to a big burly negro, and, finally, by giving him as a cell mate a depraved, pro- 
fane, drunken negro woman of the very lowest type and another crazy negre^s. 
with whom he was told to share his bed and pillow, but due to his early train- 

S. Doc. 205, 59-1 17 



254 ISLE OF PINES. 

ing lie preferred instead thereof the soft side of the filthy stone floor of the cell, 
without either mattress or covering. 

The kind, charitable neighbors — Americans — who assisted at the interment of 
the old man's brother, in preference to suffering arrest and further persecution, 
as they were threatened by the Cuban officials in charge, were compelled to 
exhume the body five days after death and place it in the consecrated burying 
ground at Santa Fe, 9 miles distant. 

The undertaking was most horrible and ghastly. The remains, which had by 
this time been reduced to a liquid state, slushed out through the cracks in the 
rough pine box that was used as a coffin, covering the bed of the vehicle, and 
from there was distributed along the roadway, causing a flock of buzzards to 
follow in their wake for almost the entire distance. 

These and many. other cases may be cited to demonstrate the utter inability 
of the Cubans to govern in a civilized manner, justly and without prejudice, 
especially in a case of this kind where five-sixths of the land is owned by and 
nine-tenths of the people are American citizens. 

The most consistent solution of the problem would seem to be to pay Cuba 
cash for the coaling station privileges which she grants us, and, if necessary, 
make her a present of some kind to help her to help pay her patriotic army of 
liberators. Then the Cubans' great love for this island would vanish and melt 
away like a snowball in a hot furnace, for neither Cuba nor the Cubans have 
any deep-seated love for the Isle of Pines, ever remembering it as a. prison and 
penal colony and associating unpleasant memories of years of torture, impris- 
onment, and servitude that they were compelled to suffer during Spanish days ; 
and it is an open secret among them from almost the highest to the lowest 
Cuban official that a few millions would amply pay Cuba for any imaginary or 
presumed claims which she may set up. Many frankly acknowledge that Cuba 
has no legal claim whatsoever, but is asserting that she has such a claim in the 
hopes to get as much money as possible from the United States. 

Surely the vested rights and personal liberties of loyal American citizens 
should not be sacrificed for an imaginary claim that dollars and cents would 
better and more agreeably satisfy, and more especially so because the Amer- 
icans were positively assured by their own Government that the Isle of Pines 
was and is United States territory. 

Therefore, as bona fide citizens of the United States, having no wish of expa- 
triating ourselves, we now appeal to our own Government not to become a 
party to any act or treaty that will force expatriation upon us. 

The turning over of the Isle of Pines to Cuba would not only be giving that 
Government the control of the island, but would affect the citizenship and be 
placing under its absolute control the vested property interests of more than 
2,000 citizens of the United States, who would thus be forced out of their own 
country, driven from under their own flag, deprived of the value of their prop- 
erty without hopes of compensation, thereby reducing many of them to want 
and misery, which we will ever trust and pray that our honorable lawmakers 
will never permit. 

Very respectfully, Chas. Raynaud, 

Secretary American Society. 

Santa Rosalia Heights, Isle of Pines, West Indies. 

U. S. A., Octooer 23, 1905. 



IN THE EVENT THAT THE ISLE OF PINES GOES TO CUBA THE FOL- 
LOWING AMENDMENTS ARE WHAT WE REQUIRE. 

First. That the Isle of Pines be constituted a distinct province of Cuba, with the 
following rights: All officials, except revenue collectors, postmasters, or other national 
officers, to be elected by the qualified residents of the province. 

Second. The right to have the postmasters appointed from the qualified residents 
of the island, recommended by the provincial government. 

Third. All officials, except national, transient, or traveling officers, such as inspect- 
ors, army officers, etc., must have been resident of the island at least one year before 
being elected or appointed to office. The governor and the alcalde must be real- 
estate owners on the island of not less than $1,000 valuation. 

Fourth. All Americans, after having resided on the island for twelve months, and 
all property holders to have the same rights as Cuban citizens. 



ISLE OF PINES. 255 

Fifth. The right to levy taxes and issue bonds for public improvements. 

Sixth. The right to import from the United States, free of duty, all kinds of 
machinery and material necessary to be used in building, equipping, or improving 
all kinds of manufacturing plants, also all kinds of transportation facilities to be used 
exclusively on this island; and all kinds of material used for public improvements. 

Seventh. The right to transact business, make deeds, contracts, custom-house and 
courts of justice papers and documents, and all Government business in either or 
both English or Spanish languages, at the option of the interested parties. 

Eighth. The right to regulate the plans and forms for making deeds, contracts, 
and other legal documents, and for registering same. 

Ninth. The right to elect notaries public, registrar of deeds, and surveyors, and to 
fix their fees or compensation; such officers not necessarily required to be lawyers, 
as the present law requires. 

Tenth. The right to practice all legitimate professions, providing the person desir- 
ing to practice has the legal right to do so in any State or Territory of the United 
States. 

Eleventh. The right to give personal security or bonds in any court where the 
case is bailable. 

Twelfth. The right of trial by jury, and oral examination of witnesses in open 
court, and to regulate the method of procedure in all local courts. 

Thirteenth. The right to have the English and Spanish language taught by com- 
petent teachers, either American or Cuban, in public schools. 

Fourteenth. The right to import free of duty from the United States everything 
necessary for his, her, or their personal use, or for use on their farm or other prop- 
erty, provided they make oath on arrival of said goods that same is not for commercial 
purposes. 

Fifteenth. The right to vote and hold office without prejudice to our citizenship 
in the United States. 

Sixteenth. The right to export free of duty to the United States all products of the 
island, provided it be proven to be exclusively the product of this island, or the 
United States, or both, as in the case of using part of the material from either this 
island or the United States. 

Seventeenth. The right to correct any mistakes or clerical errors in manifests, 
bills of lading or invoices, when it can be clearly proven that same were not intended 
or attempted to defraud. The provincial council shall be the judges when the col- 
lector has any doubt or suspicion. 

Eighteenth. The right to establish cemeteries and regulate burials, and to elect 
coroners. 

Nineteenth. The right of free speech and the freedom of the press. 

Twentieth. The right to use private pleasure boats, capacity 20 tons or less, with- 
out interference or supervision of the port officials, providing same is used in a legiti- 
mate way, without any violation of the revenue laws. 

Twenty-first. The right to own and carry firearms and ammunition, subject to the 
rules and regulations of the provincial government. 



New Yokk, November 3, 1902. 
Hon. John T. Morgan, 

United Stales Senator, Selma, Ala. 

Honorable Sir: My clients, citizens of the United States, residing and having 
large interests in the Isle of Pines, and numbering more than 300 individuals, desire 
me to appeal to you to intercede for them. Some are from your State. I will set 
forth briefly the ground of their appeal: 

After the treaty of Paris was ratified, my clients, relying upon theterms of said 
treaty, to wit, "Spain relinquishes all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba" 
(Article I in part), and " Spain cedes to the United States the island of Porto Rico 
and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies" (Article II 
in part), purchased lands in said Isle of Pines, entered upon them for purposes of 
residence and improvement, and have continued to reside upon said lands and 
improve the same until the present time, and further relying upon a letter written 
by the War Department, communicating to certain citizens of the United States, 
now residing in the Isle of Pines, that the Isle of Pines has been ceded by Spain to 
the United States. 

My clients were further encouraged to make large investments in the Isle of Pines 
by article 6 in an act making appropriation for the support of the army for the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1902; approved March 2, 1901, which reads as follows : "That 
the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries of 



256 ISLE OF PINES. 

Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty." The language of 
the treaty ceded to the United States the Isle of Pines, and the language of the act 
cited omitted the Isle of Pines from the proposed constitutional boundaries of Cuba, 
and the letter from the War Department had the effect to satisfy my clients that the 
said Isle would remain in the possession of the United States, and they not only 
continued to invest money in real estate on the island and in improvements on such 
land, but encouraged their friends and relatives to come from the States and do 
likewise. 

There are now more than 300 bona fide residents of the Isle of Pines who came 
from at least 25 States of the United States. Many of them have invested every 
dollar they took with them from the States in lands and the improvement of the said 
lands, and in houses, with a view to making the Isle of Pines their permanent home. 
One of my clients has invested over $200,000 in cash in the Isle of Pines; another has 
invested upward of $50,000, and another more than $20,000. 

One colony from the United States, all citizens thereof, hold 14,000 acres, which 
have been allotted in tracts of 100 acres each. They have erected houses and barns, 
and are engaged in planting orange orchards and in making other valuable improve- 
ments at considerable outlay of time and money. Citizens of the United States own 
more than one-half of the Isle of Pines. 

On the 20th day of May, 1902, the Isle of Pines was temporarily turned over to the 
Republic of Cuba for administrative purposes. Things are in a chaotic state on the 
island. There is no place wherein to record deeds of transfer of land, and the Repub- 
lic of Cuba insists that all deeds of transfer should be recorded at Habana and that 
a State tax of 1 per cent on the amount of the consideration shquld be paid. There 
is no notary public on the island and no judicial officer. 

The Catholic Church has separated the ecclesiastical power over said island from 
the diocese of Habana and has placed the parish of the Isle of Pines under the direct 
supervision of the diocese of Florida. The church recognized from the treaty of 
Paris and from the Piatt amendment that the island without doubt was part of the 
United States. 

My clients are informed from high authority in the Republic of Cuba that the 
Republic of Cuba contends that the Isle of Pines belongs to the Republic of Cuba, 
and that the Republic of Cuba is to utilize said Isle of Pines for the purpose of estab- 
lishing prisons and penal colonies and for the purpose of establishing a large leper 
hospital on the said island. If said course be followed out and pursued, my clients 
will lose every dollar of money invested in the said Isle of Pines, and my clients will 
be deprived of their property through no fault of their own. They relied upon the 
Paris treaty and upon the act above quoted, and believed, and still believe and 
maintain, that the Isle of Pines was ceded to the United States, and is therefore 
part and parcel of the United States. 

We are to have an interview with President Roosevelt on Monday, the 10th day 
of November. Senators will be present at this interview, and I will esteem it a per- 
sonal favor if you will communicate with me on this subject at your earliest possible 
convenience. 

Yours, very truly, James C. Lenney. 



Cincinnati, Ohio, January 25, 1905. 
Senator Morgan, 

Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir: I have the honor to state that I have learned through the press of your 
stand upon the Isle of Pines treaty. I commend you for your patriotic course in 
thus defending American citizens on American territory, and trust that you may be 
able to defeat this treaty. 

How any good American citizen can be so unmindful of the welfare of his own 
countrymen as to want to give them over to the Cuban Government, is more than I 
can conceive of. 

I am familiar with this Isle of Pines subject, as I was one of the first two Ameri- 
cans to go to the isle and invest. I did so because I was assured by the action of 
the McKinley Administration that the isle is American territory. I sold many 
thousands of acres to Americans upon the representation that it belonged to _ the 
United States acquired by the treaty of Paris. There can be no question but it is 
such territory, and is so considered by the Senate or it would not contemplate giving 
it away to Cuba. 

If these same Senators who want to give it up should live in Cuba six months or 
even visit both places, learn the conditions, and meet the Cubans and Americans, 
there would be a very decided change of opinions. 



ISLE OF PINES. 257 

There are many reasons why the isle should be retained. The Cubans as a class 
are the most ungrateful people one ever met; they do not consider that they owe the 
United States anything for the millions we spent and the lives we sacrificed to set 
them free. Ten such islands would not recompense us for our sacrifices. Many of 
the Cubans actually hate this country because we did not turn the island over to 
them at once after driving the Spanish out. I lived among them for three years 
during the American occupation and know whereof I speak. 

Every American who has bought land on the isle did so because he was buying a 
tropical home on American territory. He has improved his lands and expe'cted that 
he was as much in the United States as if he were in Ohio or any other State. 
Almost all of the island belongs to Americans. Now comes the Senate and recom- 
mends that these Americans be turned over to a foreign government. Did your 
honor ever hear of the United States hauling down its flag and surrendering terri- 
tory to a foreign country previous to this instance? These same Senators who wish 
to surrender it, would hang on with a death grip to a country 13,000 miles away 
peopled with a horde of savages, that will always be an enormous expense to us. 

A majority of the press, and I believe a large majority of the people of this country, 
are in favor of keeping this isle. 

Very truly, yours, Wm. Durham. 



Paw Paw, Mich., January 20, 1906. 
Hon. Mr. Morgan, 

United States Senator, Washington, D. C. 

Dear Mr. Morgan: As an American citizen and a property owner in the Isle of 
Pines, I wish to thank you for the stand you have taken relative to the ownership 
of this island. I think the ground is well covered in the article in Public Opinion 
of December 16, which you no doubt have seen. 

If the Americans are given an opportunity to develop the property that they pur- 
chased on the strength of what Uncle Sam had said relative to the ownership of the 
island, we will show you one of the most valuable garden spots on the face of the 
globe. The fruit orchards of Florida are fast being driven out by frost, while 
the demand for tropical fruits is rapidly on the increase. Why should not this fruit 
be raised on an American island by Americans as well as foreigners? All we as 
property owners ask in the matter is what our President terms "a square deal." 

Thanking you again as an American citizen and a representative of the people for 
your position, I am, 

Yours, very truly, F. S. Doud. 



Buffalo, N. Y., January 20, 1906. 
Hon. J. T. Morgan, Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir: As a member of the United States Senate's Foreign Relation Committee, 
I beg to call your attention to a certain fact, which, if understood, will, I believe, have 
great influence upon your committee's report upon the pending treaty between the 
United States and Cuba. 

Misled by the false statements given to the press, you may be induced to believe that 
all Americans interested in the Isle of Pines are operating as real-estate speculators. 

Let me assure you that this is not the case. I am the elected representative of 
some 480 Americans, principally residents of Buffalo, N. Y., and vicinity, who have 
purchased some 4,000 acres of land in the Isle of Pines and are holding it in small 
tracts of from 3 to 20 acres. 

We are spending thousands of dollars in improving this property and have already 
700 acres, which we are cultivating and planting in orange, lemon, lime, and grape- 
fruit trees. We are all people of moderate means — thrifty mechanics, storekeepers, 
lawyers, doctors, and clergymen, as well as manufacturers like myself. 

Many of us have visited the Isle of Pines, and know exactly what we are buying 
and what we are buying it for, namely, to secure homes to which we can retire when 
our productive period shall have passed. Many of us are denying ourselves comforts 
and even some necessities to improve these lands. 

It is not the custom of land speculators to purchase in small holdings that average 
only 10 acres each, nor do they within twelve months develop 17 per cent of their entire 
holdings. Real-estate sharks do not build thus painfully and cautiously. We sub- 
mit this to be the work of the home maker and hallmark of Anglo-Saxon civilization, 
and we request that you examine most carefully into the justice of our claim to the 



258 ISLE OF PINES. 

Isle of Pines before you surrender our persons and our property into the keeping of 
an alien government. 

We have every confidence that you will maintain the traditions of colonial Amer- 
ica, especially when every consideration of fair play demands that American sover- 
eignty shall be asserted over what is really American territory. 
Yours, very truly, 

Albert B. Young. 



To the Honorable Chairman and members of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

United States Senate. 

Gentlemen: It has come to my knowledge that representations are being made 
from Cuban sources to the effect that there is comparatively a small number of 
American property owners on the Isle of Pines who have their titles to land recorded 
according to the old Spanish laws now in vogue in that island, under its present 
alleged de facto Cuban Government. This allegation, even if it be true, would be 
of comparatively little importance, because it in no wise indicates how many 
Americans have bona fide holdings of real estate in the island for which they paid 
their cash. 

Few Americans care to pay exorbitant sums to have their land titles recorded 
under the old Spanish system. They believe, under American law, that contracts 
for deeds or other unrecorded instruments conveying title, would serve as ample 
security until such time as prevailing laws under American authority could be 
brought to some degree of simplicity and the fees for recording titles could be reduced 
to figures somewhere near commensurate to the services rendered. 

It costs the people of the Isle of Pines from $30 to $50 to record an ordinary real 
estate title under the present laws in force. In the United States the same deeds 
could be recorded for two or three dollars. It costs hundreds of dollars to record 
some deeds under Cuban laws, and there are instances where in small holdings it 
would cost more to record the deed than to purchase the property. 

We can produce the names of at least two thousand American citizens who own 
property in the Isle of Pines. 

We challenge anyone to produce the names of one hundred actual Cuban citizens 
who now own property on the Isle of Pines, no matter what the Cuban official record 
of deeds may apparently show. 

Proportionately, nine-tenths of the real estate of the island is owned by American 
citizens. 

This comparatively large purchase of property was due to the assurances of officials 
of the War Department that the Isle of Pines would be retained under American 
jurisdiction. These assurances were made often and to many people who either had 
purchased or were intending to purchase real estate on the island. I would venture 
the assertion that without such assurances not a dozen of the Americans now living 
there could have been induced to give up their homes in the States and go to the 
Isle of Pines even as prospectors under salary, much less take the risk of investing in 
property which they knew would be subject to Cuban jurisdiction. 

It is quite generally understood now that argument is being advanced to the effect 
that the Isle of Pines should be ceded to Cuba by the pending treaty so amended by 
provisions and safeguards that American interests would be protected on the island. 
I desire, as the chosen representative of the American citizens on the Isle of Pines, 
to enter my most earnest and emphatic protest against any such plan. 

As 1 understand the scheme proposed by Cubans, it included the administration of 
the island as a colony of Cuba after its Cession to Cuba in the pending treaty, on the 
part of the United States. Such a plan would be an utter failure and would operate 
to "freeze out" pretty nearly all the American property holders on the island. 

We could not have anything to say whatever about our government as a colony of 
Cuba or as a part of Cuba, unless we renounced our American citizenship, which 
very few, if any of us, would be willing to do. We could not vote without first 
swearing allegiance to Cuba. We would then be subject entirely to the caprice of 
Cuban officials. Our experience during the past three years with them has been 
such as to prove to us, beyond even a reasonable doubt, that we would be subjected 
to all sorts of devices and schemes for the extortion of money, some or all of which 
might never be remitted to either the insular or the Cuban treasury, and which cer- 
tainly would not be expended for the improvement or benefit of the island. We 
believe that it would be a grafting government, pure and simple, run to enrich a few 
Cuban officials, while we, as aliens, could neither vote nor hold office or trust, but 
would be easy plucking for those in authority over us. 



ISLE OF PINES. 259 

Then, under these conditions, what avail would be our appeals to the United States 
for protection under a treaty with its so-called "safeguards?" Probably nil. We 
would have no means to reach the ears of what might be perhaps a hostile American 
Executive, and no official way of appealing to the American people or to Congress. 

We would be tender lambs, indeed, abandoned to the mercies of the wolf. 

We would be without friends and without even a country. 

It is no small responsibility for the Senate of the United States to take such a 
stand — namely, to deprive the American citizens in the Isle of Pines of their birth- 
rights of citizenship, their property, and their homes, and force them to live as aliens 
under a foreign flag. We protest most vigorously against any such a procedure. 

First, because we had assurances from the War Department; from General Wood 
and his subordinates; from statements made by former Secretary Hay; from the 
actions of the Interior Department, including the Isle of Pines in American territory 
by direction of President McKinley, and from the procedure of the Treasury in col- 
lecting full customs on goods shipped from the Isle of Pines to the United States 
under the Dingley law, whereas if we were regarded as a part of Cuba we would 
have had the reductions provided by the reciprocity treaty with Cuba. 

Second, because we believe that both Houses of Congress, as well as the citizens of 
the United States in this country and in the Isle of Pines, ought to pass upon such 
a momentous question as cession of American territory to a foreign jurisdiction even 
under the most stringent safeguards and regulations which a treaty could provide. 

Third, because we have plainly indicated that we do not believe the Cubans, 
under any form of treaty whatsoever, bound around with restrictions and reserva- 
tions whatever way the most skillful lawyers could devise, could be restricted and 
obliged to administer a government for the best interests of American citizens living 
in the Isle of Pines. 

Here is an instance with regard to the enforcement of certain Cuban laws. It is 
unlawful to allow cattle to run at large on the Isle of Pines. There was an American 
who had his orange trees destroyed by cattle breaking through his fence. He 
corralled the cattle and filed a claim for damages. The alcalde then appointed his 
private secretary and the owner of the cattle to appraise the damages. The follow- 
ing day the claimant was notified to appear and was told by the judge never to enter 
the court with a complaint of this kind again. The case was dismissed. I was an 
eye witness to this affair, and I would not accept one hundred dollars and bear the 
damages inflicted on those orange trees. 

This is one of hundreds of affairs of this kind. The less said about Cuban courts 
the better. At the present time there are more American property owners in the 
Isle of Pines than there are in Porto Rico. 

Again may we plead with the honorable Members of the United States Senate not 
to ratify a treaty depriving their fellow-citizens of that which righteously and 
honestly belongs to them. 

There are hundreds of American citizens who have invested their savings of the 
past fifteen or twenty years in their homes on the island, and by the ratification of 
the pending treaty they would virtually be stripped of all their earthly possessions, 
no matter what amending safeguards may be exacted by the Government of the 
United States. 

We, who have had abundant experience, fear to trust ourselves to the administra- 
tion of Spanish and Cuban laws, either by the courts or the executive officers, as 
they now exist in Cuba and the Isle of Pines. 

Ed. P. Ryan. 



Menominee, Mich., January 22, 1906. 
Hon. John J. Morgan, 

United States Senator, Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir: In reference to reports of the press on recent resolutions of the United 
States Senate, I wish to express to you my sincerest thanks for the most gratifying 
attitude you have taken in the matter of the Isle of Pines treaty which is now pend- 
ing its ratification by the honorable Senate. 

I trust you will excuse my addressing you upon this subject as a citizen from Michi- 
gan, but I am so deeply, interested with that American country in the West Indies 
that I anxiously follow every proceeding of our Representatives in Washington on 
this treaty subject. 

I am not a land speculator, neither have I any connections with a land company, 
but two years ago I visited that island and was so favorably impressed with the con- 
ditions that I have vested in a tract of land there, the greater part of which I have 
now under cultivation with tropical fruits. 



260 ISLE OF PINES. 

On the assumption that the island was United States territory I made my invest- 
ment in good faith, and have since made costly improvements on my plantation. 

Recently I communicated with our Secretary of State, Mr. Root, but acccording to 
a reply received from him it seems that our adminstration is taking a firm stand 
that the Isle of Pines shall go to Cuba. 

Now, in consideration of the fact that our Government in 1899 gave assurance to 
American settlers on the Isle of Pines that the island was American territory, it is 
manifestly unfair to cede our own territory, which was populated by law-abiding 
American citizens, whose only crime is their determination to protect their rights 
and establish their claim to the privileges which their flag guarantees them. 

Well, my dear Senator, we, the American citizens interested in the Isle of Pines, 
all hope that the honorable Senate may reach a favorable decision in our behalf and 
retain the island under the sovereignty of the United States. 

In anticipation thereof, I remain, 

Very sincerely, yours, A. Dudly, Sr. 



Buffalo, N. Y. , January 24, 1906. 
Hon. J. T. Morgan, 

Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. 
Dear Sir: When the Isle of Pines treaty comes up, will you see that the Ameri- 
cans are protected? I am well acquainted on the island, own 50 acres that I bought 
with the idea that it was American territory and would be protected by the American 
flag, and that all living on the island would be American citizens. The island is 
to-day owned virtually by Americans, the land having been bought and paid for by 
them from the original owners. The island is being developed as fast as it is possi- 
ble by Americans and it seems to me would be very unjust and unfair to turn the 
Isle of Pines over to Cubans. 

In less than five years, under American development, that island, considering its 
size, will be one of the most valuable spots that the United States Government 
could control. 

On the southern part of the island is one or two very deep harbors that men-of- 
war could go right in and coal from, and when the island is fully developed it will 
be one of the greatest shipping points for early vegetables and citrus fruits that could 
be found in the world. As a property owner on the island I sincerely hope and 
trust that you will not put us Americans that live there under the Cuban flag. 
Yours, very truly, 

F. M. Van Etten. 
P. S. — I live there most of the time winters. 

F. M. V. 



Minneapolis, Minn., January 17, 1906. 
Hon. J. T. Morgan, 

United States Senator for Alabama, 

Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: I am glad to see that you are on the right and popular side of the Isle 
of Pines question. I have spent the past two winters there, and have a tropical home 
well advanced. I personally know the island to be very resourceful and worth hold- 
ing, and I also know a great many other Americans interested there from a nonspec- 
ulative point of view; all would object to Cuban rule. 
I thank you for the position taken by your report. 

Yours, truly, E. A. Drew. 



Pittsburg, Pa., January S, 1906. 
John T. Morgan, Esq., 

United States Senator, Washington, I). C. 

Dear Sir: The data in relation to the waters about the Isle of Pines, for which 1 
wrote immediately after my conversation with you in Washington, was unaccount- 
ably delayed en route, and I only just received it. 

I send you, under separate cover, a blue print of the island and surrounding waters, 
which shows the soundings in fathoms. This plan, with the accompanying descrip- 
tion, will, I trust, enable you to appreciate and explain the commercial possibilities 
of the Isle of Pines. I also inclose the original letters from Senators 0. H. and T. C. 
Piatt, to which I referred in my conversation with you. The letter from the latter 
incloses a copy of Secretary Root's letter to him. 



ISLE OF PINES. 261 

As I have promised to return both of these letters, would you kindly have them 
remailed to me as soon as they have served your purpose. I also inclose a copy of 
the resolutions passed by a meeting of the American residents of the Isle of Pines, 
upon the suggestion of General Wood; the resolutions being subsequently approved 
by General Wood, who furnished me with a letter of introduction to Secretary Root 
as an accompaniment for the resolutions. I am hurrying this off in the first mail 
after the reception of the map, and will follow it with the other data you desired in 
another letter. 

Have you received the copy of " Our Islands and their Peoples," which I ordered 
expressed to you? 

With many thanks for your kind interest in our cause, I am, 
Very respectfully, yours, 

T. J. Keenan. 

P. S. — I also inclose a rough tracing of the old Spanish chart of 1834, revised in 
1854. 



From the open Caribbean Sea on the west, along the west coast and the north coast, 
there is a channel of a minimum depth of 21 feet. This minimum occurs only at two 
points, which are bars or shallows of no great area, which can readily be removed by 
dredging. The removal of these bars would give a minimum of 24 feet of water and 
open the entrance of Siguanea Bay in the western part of the island for vessels of 
deep draft. 

Siguanea Bay is of an average width of 8J miles by 12 miles in length ; the minimum 
depth of water within this area is 24 feet; the maximum 42 feet. The cape, forming 
the southwest boundary of this bay, is lime and coral rock, forming a very rugged 
wooded protection from the south. The northeast boundary has a quartz sand beach. 
This is a thoroughly protected and safe harbor. On the north coast of the island, 2 
miles west of the mouth of the River Oasas, is a small, well-protected harbor, with a 
depth of water from 18 to 24 feet. 

The rivers of the island are very valuable waterways. The Indios, emptying into 
Siguanea Bay from the northeast, is from 18 to 21 feet in depth. The Nuevas River, 
emptying into the sea at the north of the island, has a depth, according to the native 
measurements, of 18 to 20 feet. The Casas River, emptying also on the north coast, 
upon which is situated Nueva Gerona, two miles from the sea, has an average depth 
of 18 feet to that point. I have not the actual soundings of the Jucara River, but it 
is the deepest water on the island, and would accommodate the largest war ships. 
Opposite all the rivers mentioned above, mud bars, thrown up by the wash of centu- 
ries, interferes with navigation except by vessels of a very light draft. These bars 
would be very easily and cheaply removed by dredging. In several instances, 
notably that of the river Casas, the bar is of such small area that dynamiting, when 
a heavy rise was coming out, would open up the passage. The entrance of the 
Jucara River would be more difficult to open, as the sea is shoal for several miles 
from its mouth. 

There are many other important streams on the island of sufficient width and 
depth for light-draft vessels, but those mentioned above are the most important 
waterways, being practically arms of the sea for some distance inland. The figures 
given above are those of the Spanish hydrographic surveys, charted in 1832 and 
1864, and verified by the charts adopted and used by the United States authorities 
during the Cuban occupation. 

The distance from the mouth of the Casas River on the north to the mouth of the 
Indios River on Siguanea Bay is approximately 19? miles, air line. The intermedi- 
ate country is all prairie or table land. The construction of a railroad between the 
tw T o points would be a very easy and inexpensive undertaking. There is no limit to 
the building material on the island; it abounds in every variety of marble and lime- 
stone of both hard and soft textures. There is also granite on the island. All the 
hard woods of the tropics are found on the island in vast quantities, and yellow 
pine, from which the island derives its name, still stands in immense forests. 

There is sufficient of the finest quality of hard wood for railroad ties to supply 
many thousands of miles of railroad. 

The distances by the usual steamer routes from Cape Frances, at the entrance to 
Siguanea Bay, to various points in the United States, Mexico, and Central America, 
are as follows: New York, 1,500 miles; Miami, 550 miles; Tampa, 554 miles; Pensa- 
cola, 740 miles; Mobile, 760 miles; New Orleans, 737 miles; Galveston, 842 miles; 
Vera Cruz, 794 miles; Belize, British Honduras, 397 miles; Trujillo, Honduras, 400 



262 ISLE OF TESTES. 

miles; Grey Town, Costa Rica, 655 miles; Colon, Panama, 795 miles; Kingston, 
Jamaica, 440; Port au Prince, San Domingo, 650; San Domingo, 690; Maracaibo, 
1,300. 

The various waterways, bays, and the excellent channels from the northwest of 
the Isle of Pines to the Yucatan channel, the route of all steamers between the Gulf 
and South American points, make the Isle of Pines particularly valuable from a 
shipping standpoint alone. Her natural connection is with the United States, as the 
shoals to the north of the island and along the south coast of Cuba render communi- 
cation with the new Republic impracticable except for vessels of a very light draft, 
although there is a comparatively deep water intervening for a portion of the way. 

T. J. Keenan. 



Whereas the treaty of Paris and the act of the United States Congress, commonly 
called the Piatt amendment, plainly foreshadow that the Isle of Pines, a territory 
at present within the jurisdiction of the War Department of the United States Gov- 
ernment, is to become a permanent possession of the United States; and 

Whereas large investments in real estate and improvements upon the island have 
been made under these assurances of future ownership by the United States Govern- 
ment; and 

Whereas any period of transition from the present military government (with 
which we desire to express our entire satisfaction) to a permanent civil administra- 
tion must be a period of unrest and uncertainty; and 

AVhereas it is our firm belief that, as United States territory, the Isle of Pines 
with its exceptional advantages of soil, climate, and geographical location will become 
one of the most favored and prosperous spots on earth; 

Resolved, That we, the undersigned, representing in our own persons, or as author- 
ized agents, the ownership of more than one-half the area of the Isle of Pines, respect- 
fully petition that the formal acquisition of the island by the United States be 
accomplished as speedily as possible; and we earnestly hope that whatever change 
in government such acquisition may involve may be a change in form only, and that 
the flag of the United States, which for more than three years has floated above our 
islands, may never be hauled down. 

T. J. Keenan. 



COMMENTS OF THE PAPERS. 

What the Newspapers of the World are Saying about the Isle of Pines. 

unjust suspicion. . 

Indianapolis Star says: 

"Why is it that so many people is this country are ready to believe everything 
evil that is circulated about American citizens away from home? Our little army 
was shamefully traduced and vilified when it was in Cuba and in the Philippines. 
The American settlers in Hawaii and in Alaska have been depicted as unscrupulous 
and bloodthirsty scoundrels. The moment American citizens raise their voices 
for aid or sympathy here at home we assume without argument or inquiry that they 
are engaged in some nefarious occupation and ought to be anathematized. 

"This attitude of cruel suspicion is just now busy with the American settlers and 
investors on the Isle of Pines, and the merits of their appeal for countenance at home 
has been met by by the palpable falsehood that the treaty of Paris conveyed the 
island to Cuba. The fact is that the Isle of Pines is not mentioned in the treaty of 
Paris. The Piatt amendment to the treaty with Cuba provided that its status should 
be settled by future negotiation between the United States and Cuba. The transfer 
of the island to Cuba is broached in a treaty now pending before the Senate, which 
has not been ratified and which in itself affords sufficient answer to the assertion 
that the Isle of Pines is Cuban soil. 

The president of the American Club in the Isle of Pines is out with a letter in 
which he cites public utterances of McKinley, Hay, Wood, and others justifying the 
general interpretation of the treaty of Paris that it made the island American. He 
further says that he and his associates have gone there in good faith to establish 
homes and industries, and that they trust in the American Government to stand by 
them. The letter, of course, will have no weight with those who are sure that any 
form of government in this world is more suited to and more appropriate for any 
people than the Government of the United States. 



ISLE OF FINES. 263 

SENATE AND ISLE OP PINES. 

The Fond du Lac Commonwealth says: 

The announcement to the effect chat Senator Spooner has laid before the Senate 
a number of petitions signed by residents of Wisconsin, protesting against the ratifi- 
cation of the Isle of Pines treaty, will be of interest to many of the people of this 
State. The first treaty, proposed with Cuba, by which the Isle of Pines was to be 
ceded to that Republic, failed to secure ratification within the time limit fixed, and a 
new treaty was drawn and forwarded to the Senate by the President. This new 
treaty had no time limit in its provisions, so that it may wait one year or a half dozen 
years to be voted upon. It has been understood, however, that an effort is to be 
made to secure its ratification at the present session and the opposition to the treaty 
has been renewed. 

The opposition comes from all over the country, but particularly from Wisconsin, 
Iowa, New York, and Pennsylvania, owing to the fact that large numbers of people 
from these States have interests in the Isle of Pines. The opposition, however, is 
not confined to the men having interests on the island. A fair statement of the 
situation, through the press, has enlisted the sympathy of the American people in 
every section of the country, who feel that it would be a grave injustice to force Cuban 
rule on a population that is largely American. 

"There is no valid reason why the Isle of Pines should be ceded to Cuba. The 
United States has treated that Republic with the greatest consideration, and is under 
no obligation to make further concessions. If the Cuban people manage the affairs 
of their own island with wisdom, they will be doing a good deal, and until they 
have accomplished this much they certainly have no license to take over a piece of 
territory where the population is composed largely of American citizens. 

"It is to be hoped that the Senate may conclude to treat the American residents of 
the Isle of Pines fairly by rejecting the treaty which proposes to cede the island to 
Cuba." 

The Chicago Record Herald says : 

" Recent events in the Isle of Pines remind me that two of the Central American 
Republics have in times past annexed themselves to the United States, but in neither 
case did the movement amount to anything. In 1822 the people of San Salvador 
took formal action in that respect. Salvador has often taken the lead in the political 
affairs of Central America. It was the first to throw off the yoke of Spain and uttered 
the first cry of liberty in Central America, as Venezuela did among the nations of 
the southern continent. Its patriots received the cordial cooperation of the liberal 
element in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, but were suppressed by the Spanish authorities. 

The provisional congress was driven from place to place, but remained intact. It 
had the sympathy and support of the people, but was menaced on one side by Spain 
and on the other by the Emperor Iturbide of Mexico, who was trying to bring the 
whole of Central America into his Empire. Finally, as a last resort, to escape the 
designs of the Mexican, the congress of Salvador, by a solemn act, passed on the 2d 
of December, 1822, annexed their little territory to the United States and appointed 
delegates to proceed to Washington and ask its incorporation in the body politic of 
La Grande Republica. Before the commissioners could leave the country, however, 
the Mexican Empire collapsed and the congress of Salvador voted to join the Central 
American confederation. The Government at Washington never had an opportunity 
of expressing an opinion on the subject, for the annexation resolution was never 
submitted. 

In the early part of 1855 a revolutionary movement was started in Nicaragua by 
Senor Castellon, the head of the Democratic party, who took possession of the city of 
Leon, set up a provisional government, and invited William Walker, an American 
adventurer, then in California, to come down and assist him. The latter organized 
a filibustering expedition, landed at Realejo on the 28tb of June, captured Granada, 
the capital of the Republic, shot several of the cabinet officers and other influential 
men, placed himself at the head of the Government for three years, and annexed 
Nicaragua to the United States. AValker's administration ended on the 12th of 
December, 1860, when he was captured, tried, condemned, and executed. 



264 ISLE OF PINES. 

[Washington Truth, Dec. 10, 1905.] 

"isle of pines." — extracts from the congressional record. — reminder to senate — 
mr. Herman's impressive remarks in which he states president m'kinley's views 
as to the sovereignty of the united states. 

Inasmuch as the treaty by which this Government proposes to recede the Isle of 
Pines to the Republic of Cuba will come up for action in the Senate, in all proba- 
bility during the present session of that body, Truth quotes: 

From the Congressional Record, December 8, 1903, page 46: 

Mr. Crumpacker. Mr. Speaker, I send a resolution to the Clerk's desk which I 
ask to have considered as a privileged matter. 

The Clerk reads as follows: 

Whereas it is commonly reported that a treaty negotiated between the President 
of the United States and the Republic of Cuba, granting and ceding the Isle of Pines 
to the Republic of Cuba, is penaing in the Senate of the United States for ratification 
or rejection; and whereas, by the terms of the treaty of Paris the Kingdom of Spain 
relinquishes sovereignty over the island of Cuba, and cedes to the United States the 
island of Puerto Rico and the other islands now under Spanish sovereignity in the 
West Indies. 

Whereas, by the action of this Government in establishing and recognizing the 
independence of the Republic of Cuba, it was expressly provided that the Isle of 
Pines should not be within the constitutional boundaries of that Republic; and, 

Whereas this Government has been administering the affairs of and exercising 
sovereignty over the Isle of Pines ever since that treaty of Paris was ratified: and 

Whereas section 3 of Article IV of the Constitution of the United States provides 
that "the Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and 
regulations respecting the territory and other property of the United States;" 
Therefore, 

Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to inquire into the 
facts hereinbefore recited and report to the House as soon as practicable: 

First. Whether the Isle of Pines is "territory or other property belonging to the 
United States" within the sense and meaning of the Constitution. 

Second. Whether a treaty granting and ceding territory of or belonging to the 
United States to a foreign government without action on the part of Congress is 
authorized by the Constitution. 

Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary may report at any time under the 
foregoing resolution. 

on page 48, 

Mr. Scott. Will the gentleman yield to me for a moment? 

Does not the fact that this treaty has been prepared and submitted now to the Sen- 
ate for ratification rather carry with it an implication thatour Government regards 
the Isle of Pines as belonging to the Government of the United States? Otherwise 
could we try by a treaty to recede what does not belong to us? 

Mr. Crumpacker. That is a difficult question to answer. Now, as I said in explain- 
ing this resolution, the status of the Isle of Pines is anomalous. I do not know how 
its sovereignty and control could be disposed of in any other way than by treaty, 
unless it should be property of the United States, and then in my judgment it must 
be disposed of by an act of Congress. 

That is the question I am calling on the Committee on the Judiciary to ascertain 
and report upon. If the sovereignty of Spain had never been relinquished it would 
have been an easy proposition; but the case is without historical parallel — at least I 
know of none at this time. I now move the adoption of the resolution, and ask for 
the previous question. 

[On page 47.] 

Mr. Hermann. I am in favor of the resolution, and I think all the light we can 
have, especially legal light, on the question would be acceptable to the House and to 
the country. Since the resolution will go the committee, it may be well to have this 
statement which I desire to submit go with it. 

Of my own personal knowledge I know that it was the last wish of President 
McKinley, after carefully looking into the question as to the ownership of the Isle of 
Pines and as to the right we acquired from Spain to that domain, that it should be 
understood to belong to the United States under the treaty, and he was so emphatic — 
I may say sensitive— as to that conviction that he gave specific instructions to the 
Department that the Isle of Pines should be noted upon the large cession map of the 



ISLE OF PINES. 265 

United States that shows the different acquisitions of public domain to our country 
from the various sources through which we derive original title, and that the Isle of 
Pines should be placed there as inuring to the United States under the Paris treaty. 
That was done, and publication has been made upon each annual issue of that map 
since that time, and our claim and ownership of the Isle of Pines has thus been pro- 
claimed through one of the great Executive Departments of the Government to all 
the world, and with the approval, the wish, and the direction of the Chief Magis- 
trate of this country. For one, I think the conclusion is irresistible as to our right 
and title to that province, and I sympathize with the citizens of our nation who have 
gone there and acquired property and have engaged in various industrial occupations 
under the assurance of American protection and American control, and, indeed, upon 
every reasonable interpretation of the Paris treaty, and who now are about to be 
held to be inhabitants and property owners under Cuban jurisdiction. 



[Santa Fe, Isle of Pines, December 18, 1905.] 

THE TRUE SITUATION IN THE ISLE OF PINES AS SEEN BY A RESIDENT CLERGYMAN. 

As the head of this article indicates, I have no political or' business interests', and 
though having resided here a year am only a visitor and in six months may leave 
the island and return no more. This is enough to show that I have no interest in 
the agitation, except that of every true American citizen, and I write this from per- 
sonal knowledge and observation. 

There is a great agitation and anxiety over all the island and several mass meet- 
ings have been held, and these meetings have been called "Territorial conventions," 
but there has been no sedition, no revolution, and no insubordination to Cuban 
authority as temporarily laid upon us by the United States, but there is the most 
resolute and determined protest against that authority being made permanent. The 
persons making the agitation are not landowners and speculators, but persons who 
have bought land and started homes and in many cases invested their all, believing 
this to be genuine American territory, and when there is a prospect of being ceded 
to Cuba they are agitated and some of them frenzied by the disaster that hangs over 
them. 

They are peaceful, law-abiding citizens, and while under Cuban rule are entirely 
willing to conform to Cuban laws, as well as those of the United States. They 
invited the Cuban officials to a seat in the convention and one of them came, and 
readily understood that the Americans were not throwing off Cuban authority, but 
only making an appeal to their own Government to decide the case in their favor 
when the treaty shall come up for the consideration of the Senate. There were differ- 
ent opinions as to the method to pursue, but all were united in the feeling that 
something vigorous must be done. 

And that is the feeling now, and what the Americans want is that their own flag, 
that means political salvation wherever it goes, shall again float over them. In our 
Sunday school I asked the boys to choose a hymn and they chose "My Country, 
'Tis of Thee." In the war of the sixties Christian people used to sing "The Star 
Spangled Banner" at family worship, and now all our church services are filled with 
the same spirit, and the feeling "for American retention is as deep and sacred as the 
domestic affections. To break the tie that holds us to the United States would be to 
us like the breaking of those tenderest ties. 

The American residents came here believing this to be one of "the other islands" 
mentioned in the treaty of Paris. It was also stated in the Piatt amendment that 
the Isle of Pines was not included in Cuba, and President McKinley directed it to 
be placed upon the official map of the United States. Under these conditions Ameri- 
can citizens came here rapidly and started homes. As the time of the American 
evacuation of Cuba drew near a committee of five of our worthy citizens went to 
Habana to see General Wood, who assured them that the Isle of Pines would remain 
American territory. 

With the official guarantee many new settlers came until now there are more than 
two thousand property owners and several hundreds actually resident old people, 
who have come here to soften their infirmaties and lengthen their lives under its 
genial climate, middle aged and young people to build up a home with American 
schools and churches for themselves and families, and regarding their being placed 
under Cuban guardianship as only temporary; and for prudential reasons have been 
enduring the hardships of pioneer life and resting contented and happy in the pros- 
pect on the comforts they are soon to have grow up around them in their American 
homes. 



266 ISLE OF PINES. 

The proposal to ratify the treaty that will cede us to Cuba and separate us perma- 
nently from our own country naturally creates alarm, and to many even terror, for 
many have their whole interests on earth involved in the issue, and hardship, injus- 
tice, injury, and even suffering inflicted upon them by their own country will be the 
result. This is the reason of the appeal to the President, to the Senate, to the press, 
to the people of the United States, to save their brother Americans from this forcible 
expatriation. They have a strong confidence that the appeal comes well excused if 
they do not justify the irregularity. 

At the risk of making this article too long I must mention that had the island been 
given to Cuba at the beginning it would have been giving almost a bare territory. 
But to cede it to Cuba now would be giving away to a foreign power the rights, lib- 
erties, and happiness of 2,000 American citizens and giving them to a nation that had 
no existence when many of those rights were acquired, and giving them into hard- 
ships and injustice and into conditions so utterly revolting to the instinct of Ameri- 
can people that, if those conditions were understood, not one Senator in the United 
States Congress would vote to have the treat}' ratified. 

I have written this article in as careful and candid a spirit as I know how. While 
here on the island, I am trying to carry-on the work of Christian civilization by build- 
ing a church and preaching the gospel of Christ at the several villages, and at the same 
time endeavoring to meet the obligations and perform the duties of an American 
citizen. 

I ask the good wishes and, as far as it is proper, the cooperation of all who take pleas- 
ure in the happiness 'of their fellow-men. 

E. W. Frazee, 
Pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the Isle of Pines. 



[Philadelphia Inquirer, January 26.] 
TREATY CEDING ISLE OP PINES TO CUBA APPROVED. 

The Senate Committee on Foreign Kelations has reported with a favorable recom- 
mendation the treaty ceding the Isle of Pines to Cuba, but there are several reasons 
which justify a doubt as to the propriety of its recommendation. 

One of them is that the McKinley Administration took the view that the Isle of 
Pines, which is 50 miles distant from Cuba, was one of the islands in the West Indies 
ceded to the United States by Spain through the treaty of Paris, and this opinion was 
officially communicated to American citizens, who upon the strength thereof were 
led to invest their money in the island and to take up their residence there, things 
they otherwise would not have done. 

Now, if the Isle of Pines ever belonged to the United States its possession can 
not legally be relinquished through the instrumentality of a treaty, as under the 
Constitution national property can only be alienated by act of Congress. Moreover, 
the Americans who were induced to settle in the islands by authorative representa- 
tions that it belonged to the United States are clearly entitled to a consideration 
which under the pending treaty they do not receive. 

There is another thing. The treaty whose ratification without amendment the 
Senate committee has recommended contains a clause declaring that the Isle of Pines 
is relinquished in return for the coaling stations which were so begrudgingly granted 
to the United States. This statement is both inaccurate and inconsistent. It is 
inaccurate, because the grant of coaling stations to the United States was one of the 
conditions as incorporated in the Piatt amendment, upon which this country agreed 
to withdraw its troops from Cuba and to recognize the legitimacy of the Cuban 
Kepublic; and to argue that the Isle of Pines is being ceded in return for the 
coaling stations is absurd. 

It is inconsistent because we are told by the friends of the treaty that the Isle of 
Pines never belonged to the United States anyhow, and now an alleged favor could 
be reciprocated by the surrender of something we never owned it is impossible to 
understand. Either the United States owns the Isle of Pines or it does not. If it 
owns it, that ownership can not be terminated by means of a treaty. If it does not 
own it, there is no sense in asserting that it is being ceded now in return for the 
coaling-station privileges. 

From every point of view those who oppose the ratification of the treaty have dis- 
tinctly the best of the argument. The fact is that a mistake was made when the 
Cubans were first allowed to exercise jurisdiction in the Isle of Pines, and there are 
those who prefer that this mistake shall rather be confirmed than acknowledged. 



ISLE OF PINES. 



267 



APPENDIX E. 

Cuba — Coaling and naval stations. 



AGEEEMENT 



BETWEEN 



THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA 
FOR THE LEASE (SUBJECT TO TERMS TO BE AGREED UPON BY 
THE TWO GOVERNMENTS) TO THE UNITED STATES OF LANDS 
IN CUBA FOR COALING AND NAVAL STATIONS. 



Signed by the President of Cuba, February 16, 1903. 
Signed by the President of the United States, February 23, 1901 



AGEEEMENT 

Between the United States of 
America and the Republic of 
Cuba for the lease (subject to 
terms to be agreed upon by the 
two Governments) to the United 
States of lands in Cuba for coal- 
ing and naval stations. 

The United States of America 
and the Republic of Cuba, being- 
desirous to execute fully the pro- 
visions of Article VII of the Act 
of Congress approved March sec- 
ond, 1901, and of Article VII of 
the Appendix to the Constitution 
of the Republic of Cuba promul- 
gated on the 20th of May, 1902, 
which provide: 

" Article VII. To enable the 
United States to maintain the inde- 
pendence of Cuba, and to protect 
the people thereof, as well as for 
its own defense, the Cuban Gov- 
ernment will sell or lease to the 
United States the lands necessary 
for coaling or naval stations, at 
certain specified points, to be 



CONVENIO 

Entre los Estados Unidos de 
America y la Republica de Cuba 
para arrendar a los Estados 
Unidos (bajo las condiciones que 
habran de convenirse por los 
dos Gobiernos) tierras en Cuba 
para estaciones carboneras y 
navales. 

Deseando los Estados Unidos 
de America y la Republica de Cuba 
ejecutar en todas sus partes lo 
prevenido en el Articulo VII de 
la Ley del Congreso que f ue apro- 
bada el 2 de Marzo de 1901 y en 
el Articulo VII del Apendice a la 
Constitucion de la Republica de 
Cuba promulgada el 20 de Mayo 
de 1902, en los cuales se dispone 
que: 

'Articulo VII. Para poner en 
condiciones a los Estados Unidos 
de mantener la independencia de 
Cuba y proteger al pueblo de la 
misma, asi como para su propia 
defensa, el Gobierno de Cuba ven- 
dera 6 arrendara a los Estados 
Unidos las tierras necesarias para 
carboneras 6 estaciones navales en 



268 



ISLE OF PINES. 



agreed upon with the President of 
the United States." 

have reached an agreement to that 
end, as follows: 

Article I. 

The Republic of Cuba hereby 
leases to the United States, for the 
time required for the purposes of 
coaling and naval stations, the fol- 
lowing described areas of land and 
water situated in the Island of 
Cuba: 

1st. In Guantanamo (see Hydro- 
graphic Office Chart 1857). 

From a point on the south coast, 
1.37 nautical miles to the eastward 
of Windward Point Light House, 
a line running north (true) a dis- 
tance of 1.25 nautical miles; 



From the northern extremity of 
this line, a line running west (true), 
a distance of 5.87 nautical miles; 

From the western extremity of 
this last line, a line running south- 
west (true), 3.31 nautical miles; 

From the southwestern extrem- 
ity of this last line, a line running 
south (true), to the seacoast. 

This lease shall be subject to all 
the conditions named in Article II 
of this agreement. 

2nd. In Northwestern Cuba (see 
Hydrographic Office Chart 2036). 

In Bahia Honda (see Hj T dro- 
graphic Office Chart 520b). 

All that land included in the 
peninsula containing Cerro del 
Morrillo and Punta del Carenero 
situated to the westward of a line 
running south (true) from the 
north coast at a distance of thir- 
teen hundred } T ards east (true) 



ciertos puntos determinados que se 
convendran con el Presidente de 
los Estados Unidos." 

han celebrado con ese objeto el 
siguiente convenio: 

Articulo I. 

La Republica de Cuba arrienda 
por el presente a los Estados Uni- 
dos por el tiempo que las necesi- 
taren 3^ para el objeto de establecer 
en ellas estaciones carboneras 6 
navales, las extenciones de tierra 
y agua situadas en la Isla de Cuba 
que a continuacion se describen: 

1°. En Guantanamo (vease la 
Carta 1857 de la Oficina Hidrogra- 
iica). Partiendo de un punto de 
la costa sur situado a 1.37 millas 
maritimas al este del faro de la 
"Punta de Barlovento," una linea 
que corre en direccion Norte 
(franco) por una distancia de 1.25 
millas maritimas; 

Partiendo de la extremidadnorte 
de esta linea, una linea de 5.87 
millas maritimas hacia el Oeste 
(franco) ; 

Partiendo de la extremidad occi- 
dental de esta linea, una linea de 
3.31 millas maritimas hacia el 
Sudoeste (franco); 

Partiendo de la extremidad 
sudoeste de esta ultima linea, una 
linea en direccion Sur (franco) 
hasta la costa. 

Este arrendamiento quedara 
sujeto a todas las condiciones que 
se mencionan en el Articulo II de 
este Convenio. 

2°. En la parte noroeste de Cuba 
(vease la Carta 2036 de la Oficina 
Hidrografica). ' 

En Bahia Honda (vease la Carta 
520. b de la Oficina Hidrografica). 

Todo el terreno comprendido en 
lapeninsulaenque se hallael Cerro 
del Morrillo y la Punta del Care- 
nero y que esta situado al oeste de 
una linea trazada desde la costa 
norte en direccion Sur (franco) a 
una distancia de 1300 yardas al 



ISLE OF PINES. 



269 



from the crest of Cerro del Mor- 
rillo, and all the adjacent waters 
touching upon the coast line of the 
above described peninsula and in- 
cluding the estuary south of Punta 
del Carenero with the control of 
the headwaters as necessaiy for 
sanitary and other purposes. 

And in addition all that piece of 
land and its adjacent waters on the 
western side of the entrance to Ba- 
hia Honda included between the 
shore line and a line running north 
and south (true) to low water 
marks through a point which is 
west (true) distant one nautical 
mile from Pta. del Cayman. 

Article II. 

The grant of the foregoing- 
Article shall include the right to 
use and occup} 7 the waters adjacent 
to said areas of land and water, 
and to improve and deepen the 
entrances thereto and the anchor- 
ages therein, and generally to do 
any and all things necessary to fit 
the premises for use as coaling or 
naval stations only, and for no 
other purpose. 



Vessels engaged in the Cuban 
trade shall have free passage 
through the waters included with- 
in this grant. 

Article III. 

While on the one hand the U nited 
States recognizes the continuance 
of the ultimate sovereignty of the 
Republic of Cuba over the above 
described areas of land and water, 
on the other hand the Republic of 
Cuba consents that during the 
period of the occupation by the 
United States of said areas under 
the terms of this agreement the 
United States shall exercise com- 
plete jurisdiction and control over 
and within said areas with the 
S. Doc. 205, 59-1 18 



este (franco) de la cresta del Cerro 
del Morrilloy todas las aguas adya- 
centes que confinan con el litoral 
de la peninsula arriba descrita in- 
cluyendo el estero al sur de la Pun- 
ta del Carenero con jurisdiccion 
sobre las cabezadas en cuanto sea 
necesario para tines sanitarios j de 
otro genero. 

Y, ademas, toda la extension de 
terreno y sus aguas adyacentes al 
lado oeste de la entrada de Bahia 
Honda comprendido entre el litoral 
y una liiiea de Norte a Sur (franco) 
hasta donde llegue la bajamar atra- 
vesando un pun to que esta al oeste 
(franco) ydistante una nulla mari- 
tima de Punta del Caiman. 

Articulo II. 

La concesion del Articulo an- 
terior incluira el derecho a usar 
y ocupar las aguas adyacentes a 
dichas extensiones de tierra y 
agua, y a mejorar y profundizar 
las entradas de las prismas y sus 
fondeaderos,y— en general — a ha- 
cer todo cuanto fuere necesario 
para poner dichos lugares en 
condiciones de usarse exclusiva- 
mente como estaciones carboneras 
6 navales y para ningim otro 
objeto. 

Los buques dedicados al comer- 
cio con Cuba gozaran de libre 
transito por las aguas incluidas en 
esta concesion. 

Articulo III. 

Si bien los Estados Unidos re- 
conocen por su parte la continua- 
cion de la soberania definitiva de 
la Republica de Cuba sobre las ex- 
tensioues de tierra y agua arriba 
descritas, la Republica de Cuba 
consiente, por su parte, en que, 
durante el pcriodo en que los Es- 
tados Unidos ocupen dichas areas a 
tenor de las estipulaciones de este 
Convenio.los Estados Unidos ejer- 
zan jurisdiccion y senorio comple- 
tes sobre dichas areas con derecho 



270 



ISLE OF PINES. 



right to acquire (under conditions 
to be hereafter agreed upon by the 
two Governments) for the public 
purposes of the United States any 
land or other property therein by 
purchase or by exercise of eminent 
domain with full compensation to 
the owners thereof. 

Done in duplicate at Habana, and 
signed by the President of the Re- 
public of Cuba this sixteenth day 
of February, 1903. 



a adquirir (bajolas condiciones que 
mas adelante habran de convenirse 
por ambos Gobiernos) para los tines 
publicos de los Estados Unidos 
cualquier terreno ii otra propiedad 
situada en las mismas por compra 6 
expropiacion forzosa indemnizan- 
do a sus poseedores totalmente. 

Hecho por duplicado en la Ha- 
bana; y firmado por el Presidente 
de la Republica de Cuba, hoy dia 
diez y seis de Febrero de 1903. 



[seal] 



T. Estrada Palma. 



Signed by the President of the 
United States the twent}^ third of 
February, 1903. 

[seal] Theodore Roosevelt 



Firmado por el Presidente de los 
Estados Unidos hoy dia veinte y 
tres de Febrero de 1903. 



ISLE OF PINES, 



271 



Cuba. — Lease of coaling or Naval Stations to the United States. 



LEASE TO THE UNITED STATES 



GOVERNMENT OF CUBA 



CERTAIN AREAS OF LAND AND WATER FOR NAVAL OR COALING 
STATIONS IN GUANTANAMO AND BAHIA HONDA 



Signed at Habana July 2, 1903. 
Approved by the President October #, 1903. 
Ratified by the President of Cuba August 17, 1903. 
Ratifications exchanged at Washington October tf, 1903. 



The United States of America 
and the Republic of Cuba, being 
desirous to conclude the conditions 
of the lease of areas of land and 
water for the establishment of 
naval or coaling stations in Guan- 
tanamo and Bahia Honda the Re- 

Eublic of Cuba made to the United 
tates by the Agreement of Feb- 
ruary 16/23, 1903, in fulfillment of 
the provisions of Article Seven of 
the Constitutional Appendix of the 
Republic of Cuba, have appointed 
their Plenipotentiaries to that 
end. — 

The President of the United 
States of America, Herbert G. 
Squiers, Envoy Extraordinary 
and Minister Plenipotentiary in 
Havana, 

And the President of the Repub- 
lic of Cuba, Jose M. Garcia 
Montes, Secretaiy of Finance, and 
acting Secretar}^ of State and 
Justice, who, after communicating 
to each other their respective full 
powers, found to be in due form, 
have agreed upon the following 
Articles: — 



Deseando los Estados Unidos de 
America y la Republica de Cuba 
dejar determinadas las condiciones 
del arrendamiento de las areas de 
terreno y agua que, para el esta- 
blecimiento de Estaciones Navales 
6 Carboneras, en Guantanamo y 
Bahia Honda, hizo la Republica de 
Cuba a los Estados Unidos, por el 
Convenio de 16/23 de Febrero de 
1903 llevado a cabo en cumpli- 
miento de lo preceptuado en el 
Articulo 7 del Apendice Constitu- 
cional de la Republica de Cuba, han 
nombrado con ese objeto sus Ple- 
nipotenciarios: 

El Presidente de los Estados 
Unidos de America a Herbert G. 
Squiers, Enviado Extraordinario 
y Ministro Plenipotenciario en la 
Habana, 

Y el Presidente de la Republica 
de Cuba a Jose M. Garcia Montes, 
Secretario de Hacienda e interino 
de Estado y Justicia, quienes, pre- 
vio el cange de sus respectivos 
plenos poderes, que -encontraron 
estar en debida forma, han con- 
venido en los siguientes Articulos: 



272 



ISLE OF PINES. 



Article I 

The United States of America 
agrees and covenants to pay to the 
Republic of Cuba the annual sum 
of two thousand dollars, in gold 
coin of the United States, as long- 
as the former shall occupy and 
use said areas of land by virtue of 
said Agreement. 

All private lands and other real 
property within said areas shall 
be acquired forth with by the Re- 
public of Cuba. 

The United States of America 
agrees to furnish to the Republic 
of Cuba the sums necessary for 
the purchase of said private lands 
and properties and such sums shall 
be accepted by the Republic of 
Cuba as advance payment on ac- 
count of rental v due by virtue of 
said Agreement. 



Article II 

The said areas shall be surveyed 
and their boundaries distinctly 
marked by permanent fences or 
inclosures. 

The expenses of construction 
and maintenance of such fences or 
inclosures shall be borne by the 
United States. 

Article III 

The United States of America 
agrees that no person, partner- 
ship, or corporation shall be per- 
mitted to establish or maintain a 
commercial, industrial or other 
enterprise within said areas. 

Article IV 

Fugitives from justice charged 
with crimes or misdemeanors 
amenable to Cuban law, taking- 
refuge within said areas, shall be 
delivered up by the United States 
authorities on demand by duly 
authorized Cuban authorities. 



Articulo 1. 

Los Estados Unidos cle America 
acuerdan y estipulan pagar a la 
Republica de Cuba la suma amial 
de dos mil pesos en monedas de 
oro de los Estados Unidos, durante 
todo el tiempo que estos ocuparen 
y usaren dichas areas de terreno 
en virtud del mencionado Con- 
venio. 

Todos los terrenos de propiedad 
particular y otros bienes inmue- 
bles comprendidos en dichas areas 
seran adquiridos sin deniora por 
la Republica de Cuba. Los Esta- 
dos Unidos de America convienen 
en suministrar a la Republica de 
Cuba las cantidades necesarias para 
la compra de dichos terrenos y 
bienes de propiedad particular, y 
la Republica de Cuba aceptara 
dichas cantidades como pago ade- 
lantado a cuenta de la renta debida 
en virtud de dicho Convenio. 

Articulo II. 

Dichas areas seran deslindadas 
y sus linderos marcados con pre- 
cision por medio de cercas 6 valla- 
dos permanentes. Los gastos de 
construccion y conservacion de 
estas cercas 6 vallados seran suf ra- 
gados por los Estados Unidos. 



Articulo III. 

Los Estados Unidos de America 
convienen en que no se permitira 
a, persona, sociedad 6 asociacion 
alguna establecer 6 ejercer empre- 
sas comerciales, industriales 6 de 
otra clase dentro de dichas areas. 

Articulo IV. 

Los delincuentes prof ugos de la 
justicia acusados de delitos 6 faltas 
sujetos a la jurisdiccion de las 
Leyes Cubanas y que se ref ugiaren 
dentro de dichas areas, seran entre- 
gados por las Autoridades de los 
Estados Unidos cuando lo pidieren 



ISLE OF PINES. 



273 



On the other hand the Republic 
of Cuba agrees that fugitives from 
justice charged with crimes or 
misdemeanors amenable to United 
States law, committed within said 
areas, taking refuge in Cuban ter- 
ritory, shall on demand, be deliv- 
ered up to duty authorized United 
States authorities. 



Autoridades Cubanas debidamente 
autorizadas. Por otra parte, la 
Republica de Cuba conviene en 
que los prof ugos de la justicia acu- 
sados de delitos 6 faltas sujetos a la 
jurisdiccion de las le3 T es de los 
Estados Unidos cometidos dentro 
de dichas areas y que se ref ugiaren 
en territorio Cubano seran, 
cuando se le pida, entregados a 
las Autoridades de los Estados 
Unidos debidamente autorizadas. 



Article V. 

Materials of all kinds, merchan- 
dise, stores and munitions of war 
imported into said areas for exclu- 
sive use and consumption therein, 
shall not be subject to payment of 
customs duties nor any other fees 
or charges and the vessels which 
ma}^ cany same shall not be sub- 
ject to pa}mient of port, tonnage, 
anchorage or other fees, except in 
case said vessels shall be discharged 
without the limits of said areas; 
and said vessels shall not be dis- 
charged without the limits of said 
areas otherwise than through a reg- 
ular port of entry of the Republic 
of Cuba when both cargo and ves- 
sel shall be subject to all Cuban 
Customs laws and regulations and 
payment of corresponding duties 
and fees. 



It is further agreed that such ma- 
terials, merchandise, stores and 
munitions of war shall not be trans- 
ported from said areas into Cuban 
territory. 

Article VI. 

Except as provided in the pre- 
ceding Article vessels ente ring- 
in to or departing from the Bays 
of Guantanamo and Bahia Honda 
within the limits of Cuban terri- 
tory shall be subject exclusively 
to Cuban laws and authorities and 
orders emanating from the latter 



Articulo V. 

Los materiales de todas clases] 
mercancias, pertrechos y muni- 
ciones de guerra importados en 
dichas areas, para uso y consumo 
exclusivo de las mismas, no estaran 
sujetos al pago de derechos arance- 
larios ni a ningun otro derecho 6 
carga, } T los buques que los condu- 
jeren no estaran sujetos al pago de 
derechos de puerto, tonelaje, an- 
claje ni a cualquier otro, salvo 
cuando dichos buques se descarga- 
ren fueradelos limites de las ref eri- 
das areas; y dichos buques no seran 
descargados f uera de los limites de 
las ref eridas areas a menos que no 
sea por un puerto habilitado de la 
Republica de Cuba, y en este caso 
tanto el cargamento como el buque 
estaran sujetos a todas las leyes y 
reglamentos de Aduana Cubanos 
y al pago de los derechos corres- 
pondientes. 

Se acuerda, ademas, que esos 
materiales, mercancias, pertrechos 
y municiones de guerra no pod rim 
ser trasportados de dichas iireas a 
territorio Cubano. 

Articulo VI. 

Con excepcion de lo dispuesto 
en el articulo anterior, los buques 
que entren 6 salgan de las Bahias 
de Guantanamo y Bahia Honda, 
dentro de los limites del territorio 
Cubano estaran exclusivamente 
sujetos a las Leyes y Autoridades 
Cubanas, y a las disposiciones 



274 



ISLE OF PINES. 



in all that respects port police, 
Customs or Health, and authorities 
of the United States shall place no 
obstacle in the way of entrance and 
departure of said vessels except 
in case of a state of war. 



Article VII 

This lease shall be ratified and 
the ratifications shall be exchanged 
in the City of Washington within 
seven months from this date. 

In witness whereof, We, the 
respective Plenipotentiaries, have 
signed this lease and hereunto 
affixed our Seals. 

Done at Havana, in duplicate in 
English and Spanish this second 
day of July nineteen hundred and 
three. 



emanadas de estas en todo lo con- 
cerniente a la Policia de Puerto, a 
las Aduanas y a la Sanidad, y las 
autoridades de los Estados Unidos 
no opondran ningun obstaculo a 
la entrada y salida de dichos 
buques, excepto en el caso de un 
estado de guerra. 

Articulo VII. 

Este arrendamiento sera ratifi- 
cado y las ratificaciones seran can- 
jeadasen laCiudad de Washington, 
dentro de siete meses despues de 
la fecha. 

En testimonio de lo cual, Noso- 
tros, los respectivos Plenipotenci- 
arios, hemos firmado este arren- 
damiento y estampado en el pre- 
sente nuestros sellos. 

Hecho en la Habana, por dupli- 
cado, en ingles y en castellano, ho}^ 
dia dos de Julio demil novecientos 
tres. 



[seal] 

[seal] 



H. G. Squiers. 

Jose M. Garcia Montes 



1, Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States of Amer- 
ica, having seen and considered the foregoing lease, do hereby approve 
the same, by virtue of the authority conferred by the seventh of the 
provisions defining the relations which are to exist between the United 
States and Cuba, contained in the Act of Congress approved March 2, 
1901, entitled "An Act making appropriation for the support of the 
Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1902." 

Washington, October 2, 1903. 

THEODORE ROOSEVELT 



the other side of the isle op pines question — a voice from the people. 

January 13, 1906. 
Hon. John T. Morgan, 

Care of the Senate, Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir: Cuba needs money. She does not need and can never govern Americans 
with twentieth century ideas and enterprise. 

Cuba will unquestionably gladly sell the sovereignty of the Isle of Pines now at a 
low rate. It can be paid for in cash in the same treaty that settles the status of the 
coaling stations, or later without doing her any injustice, regardless of whether the 
sovereignty of the Isle of Pines, by the treaty of Paris, has rested in the American 
or the Cuban Government in the past: 

It is a question of present brains to grasp this opportunity and save this bit of para- 
dise for the support of the 100,000 American families who can each own a 5-acre 
grove of grape fruit, oranges, lemons, and pineapples that will be worth $1,000 an 
acre when at bearing age. 



ISLE OF PINES. 275 

Why is Canada getting thousands of American settlers? Simply because the 
dependable public domain is exhausted. The prosperity of present and past genera- 
tions has been largely due to the increased value of the wonderful public domain than 
any other cause. If Congress could for a song purchase the sovereignty of 100,000 
quarter sections of desirable Canada land for this many American families, would 
you let the opportunity slip? A 5-acre orange grove on the Isle of Pines will give 
better financial support to a family than a whole section of Canada land. 

Millions of American money are carried to European health resorts because of this 
fact. The Isle of Pines without question is the most remarkable health resort in the 
Western Hemisphere, due not only to its wonderful springs, but also due to the 
smallness of the island and the fact that the sea breezes make it a temperate climate 
in the tropics. 

La grippe, pneumonia, and yellow fever are utterly unknown on the Isle of Pines 
because of the above facts. No part of Cuba is available as above because of the 
sultry land breezes, variable climate on this account, and the hardness of the water 
caused by the limestone coral formation immediately under the surface of the entire 
island. Every well on the Isle of Pines yields soft magnesia water. The warm 
magnesia and iron springs are unsurpassed in Europe or America in their curative 
prope ties. See Steinhart report. 

What are the 1,200 present owners of four-fifths of the Isle of Pines guilty of? 

Guilty of owning real estate. 

Guilty of seeing the wonderful future of this bit of paradise, that has a lower sum- 
mer temperature than any American county. 

Guilty of discovering that on the Isle of Pines, with its deep, porous subsoil, where 
no irrigation is needed, that a grove of oranges, grape fruit, lemons, etc., can be raised 
in half the time and with a trifle more expense than an apple or cherry orchard can 
be raised in any State in the Union. 

Guilty of discovering this little island where the temperature never reaches the 100° 
mark, summer or winter, where every foot of surface is cooled by the sea breeze that 
sweeps over it because of its size — this temperate climate in the Tropics. 

Guilty of discovering that this 500-year-old Cuban cow pasture is not much good 
for pasture, but furnishes the most perfect conditions for citrus fruits, pineapples, 
and vegetables within the reach of American markets. 

Guilty of buying entire holdings of Spanish owners, because a Spaniard sells all or 
nothing, the estates running from 5,000 to 100,000 acres each — these first purchases 
of necessity requiring large capital before they could be resold or subdivided. 

Guilty of being forced to act on best interpretation as to sovereignty of the Isle of 
Pines then at once or not at all. All the official data and advice offered by Assistant 
Secretary of War and lesser officials, as well as the ordinary use of English in treaty 
of Paris. Protocols with Cuba and Cuban constitution showing island to belong to 
United States. 

Guilty of pioneering this unknown, forest-covered island, the conditions of which 
to-day are utterly unknown to the officials of the United States. Every report 
except the Steinhart report has emanated solely from Cuban sources, whose only 
interest has been to misrepresent the real conditions. 

Guilty of supplanting the weekly schooner service between Cuba and the island 
with an up-to-date steamer service that enables you to leave Habana in the morning 
and reach the Isle of Pines in the evening. 

Guilty of inaugurating in addition a steamer and schooner service directly between 
the Isle of Pines and Mobile. Starting a weekly paper and establishing a bank. 

Guilty of changing the entire atmosphere of the island, making it strictly Ameri- 
can, with American churches, Sunday schools, free schools in every community on 
the island, and paying for same out of our own pockets. 

We just want to stay American citizens. We want our children to be American 
citizens; that's all. Our holdings are worth much more than they cost, the same as 
all Cuban investments have advanced. No investor on the island who has ever been 
there has complained of the advanced values of property or the profits the original 
companies have made. 

Cuban government costs nothing, because there is no government for Isle of Pines. 

There are no land taxes in Cuba, and we could hold our real estate a thousand 
years without paying any land taxes to the Cuban Government; but for Americans 
there is absolutely no government. 

The Administration refuses to be convinced of the appalling ingratitude of the 
Cuban people to America and Americans. Americans are hated to-day in Cuba 
worse than the Spaniards ever were. That is why small officials in Cuba take every 
opportunity to make life a burden to any American enterprise that has to pass through 
their hands. That is why we demand the protection of the American Government, 



276 ISLE OF PINES. 

so that our products can go through Cuba in bond with Uncle Sam to hold officia 
Cuba level. 

Yet half the commerce of the globe is carried in ships drawing 20 feet and under 
of water. The great vessels entering Chicago River sail over tunnels less than this 
depth below surface. The Navy Department made most exhaustive soundings around 
the island for months. If this is not the case, what -was it? _ 

While this may be true to-day, in twenty years the possession of the island twenty- 
four hours closer to Panama than any Cuban coaling station might justify the neces- 
sary improvements that would make Sigunea Bay the finest rendezvous for American 
shipping outside of American harbors. 

The ownership of the island has not been obtained by the 1,200 American owners 
for the purpose of transforming it into a coaling station. 

Every acre of the island is too valuable to be made into a soldiers' barracks. "We 
want it to support American homes, American parents, and American children. 

Don't count to-day for anything, but with Jamaica under the English flag so much 
nearer than Cuba; say, don't ratify that treaty. Your past official information, 
except the Steinhart report, has all come from Habana hotel lobbies, $10 a day and 
extras, and don't forget it. 

It counted in Morocco when Pericardis, a foreigner, claimed it. It counts in Tur- 
key, or any place on earth, when a foreign-born consul cracks the whip. Is it just 
as honorable or fair for the discoverers of the Isle of Pines to be taunted for wishing 
to retain and claim this priceless boon? We don't want to suffer because former 
Secretary of War went back on statements of Assistant Secretary Meiklejohn and now 
proposes to enforce his stand as Secretary of State. 

Our company, the first to buy a 20,000 acre tract on the island, consisted of 40 share- 
holders — Iowa and Wisconsin farmers and small business men. It still has only 
8,000 acres of the original purchase not sold, and between 90 and 100 actual owners 
of the part disposed of. They had to interpret the official data as it then existed, 
and act then or not at all. 

Before us was the letter of Assistant Secretary of the War Department, stating it 
was American territory. This reply they, of course, regarded as settling the question, 
in view of the fact that the Treaty of Paris specifically ceded and mentioned Porto Rico 
and other islands, and the Isle of Pines is the only island in the West Indies owned 
by Spain that had a distinct name on official government maps. 

'Protocol No. 9, October 21, 1898, stated: "They (the United States) did claim 
sovereignty over Porto Rico and over other islands surrounding Cuba, which will 
render impossible the independence it (Cuba) without gracious consent of the United 
States, etc." 

And the only one known by distinct name. All the rest are designated "cays," 
which in Spanish is a reef too low for use and often partially submerged and covered 
with mango swamp growth. 

August 14, 1899, the Department of State, in answer to inquiries as to the disposal 
of public lands there, stated: "This island (Isle of Pines) was ceded to the United 
States by Spain and is, therefore, a part of our territory attached at present to the 
Division of Cuba for administrative purposes;" hence the disposal of public lands 
would have to await the action of Congress. 

Not till near March 2, 1901, was an official word written expressing doubt of the 
ownership of the island. The Piatt amendment, and even then the island was 
expressly excluded from the bounds of Cuba and status left for later determination, 
as follows: "The Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional 
boundaries of Cuba, and title thereto," etc., and above exact language was incorpo- 
rated in the Cuban Constitution. 

Goods shipped from Isle of Pines to Mobile were denied the 20 per cent Cuban 
rebate as coming from other than Cuban territory. 

The pending treaty proposes to swap the Isle of Pines for two coaling stations. 

And what is there to own except the sovereignty of the island? 

Administration papers like the' Chicago Tribune^ and Washington correspondents, 
fill their papers with headlines calling us "land sharks," "speculators trying to start 
a land boom," "island no good anyhow." 

The writer is one of the third purchasers from Spanish ownership from the above 
Iowa company. Every catalogue has contained the extracts and quotations in full 
from the documents from which the claim of American ownership was drawn, and 
we third purchasers have no fault to find with the company's method of representa- 
tion or the price we have paid for our land, but we want the Stars and Stripes just 
the same. 

A Cuban will never vote for an American. The native population own no prop- 
erty, are of low intelligence, and utterly clannish in life habits. They are doing the 



ISLE OF PINES. . 277 

menial work on the Isle of Pines at $1 per day, but so prejudiced against American 
ways that an American family can rarely hire a Cuban house servant, and never at 
all unless they can return to their fami>y at night. 

Thus the owners of the island, the employers of the natives, and the class that has 
the intelligence to run the island, would be ruled by the natives. This places their 
future welfare in the hands of this prejudiced foreign serving class. 

You now see why we demand American sovereignty. 

Buying it from Cuba will solve the whole question. 

H. A. Cole, Chicago, III. 

P. S. — I am the owner of 260 acres, purchased from the Iowa Company, criticised 
by Foraker, per advanced report in Tribune. I also own stock in the company, pur- 
chased of original incorporators. I am paying the entire expense of this letter, so 
you see how unjust the intimation that any big corporation is backing any company 
on the Isle of Pines. 



f-B Ap '06 



e©e 



